Creatures of the Dark
by SouthernVampireFan85
Summary: It is 2005, Sookie and Eric are married, living in Switzerland. She, with a little help/interruption from Eric, is writing a book about her past working for the CIA, including why she met Eric, and how they fell in love. AU.
1. Assets

16/05/2009 19:12:00

A/N Sookie POV (diary-writing style), thoughts are in _italics_. There is an omnipresent narrator in **bold**_**, **_but I haven't used it much yet, just once in this chapter.

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I was 15 years old when my life changed forever.

There would be no sweet sixteen party for me, no close high school friends, no first kiss under the bleachers… no, it was all taken from me. Why? I still can't be sure, but at the time they said it had to do with 'my gift.' A gift that at that age I desperately wanted to return. It made life confusing… harder than it needed to be, especially for an adolescent. The things I heard… well that isn't really why I decided to write this story.

_Focus, Sookie, Focus. This is not a pity party… but leave it for now, you can erase later as necessary. He said this would be therapeutic, just keep going with it… see where it takes you._

The only person I had in my life, my grandmother, was gone. One winter night, we were drinking sweet tea (unseasonably, I know), playing cards, and giggling over the prospect of spring – discussing which flowers to plant in the garden that year. Gran and I loved spring and summer the most. We spent most of the long sunny days outside in the yard tending flowers or catching sun. Although I suppose the latter was mostly me, Gran wasn't as much in it for the suntan as I was.

And the next bitterly cold morning I found her in her room… No new flowers were planted in the yard that year.

I wasn't even sure at the time what would happen to me. It may seem like I was exaggerating when I said that Gran was the only person I had because I do have an older brother, but he wasn't there for me. Yes, he had lived with us until he was 18, but he didn't share the same views on the world as Gran and I did. Over the two years since he left, he stopped by occasionally for food… we did talk some, but not really about anything important, nothing that ever amounted to anything.

Jason didn't even come straight away when Gran died. I suppose he didn't know what to do, what to say, but it hurt me that he didn't try. I sat alone in the house, our small town police force didn't know where else to take me… I demanded that I stay home, and they let me.

Tara came by after school that day, she held my hand and told me I could cry if I wanted to. I didn't… cry that is. I'm not really sure if I wanted to. I missed Gran desperately, but I was so angry at the time, that I couldn't let myself grieve.

It may have also been that I didn't want to cry in front of Tara, not when she had been so strong all those years. I had it relatively easy in comparison – Gran had loved me, I knew what it felt like to give and receive love. Tara wasn't so lucky. Her parents were alcoholics; they didn't even like themselves.

I knew Tara would miss Gran as well. Our home had always been a respite for her. We weren't the closest of friends, but I guess in a way, we were each other's closest friend. I never asked her "what happened" when she came over (because I already knew) and I think she found it comforting. She never called me strange or judged me the way so many others had, and there was comfort in that for me – even when we were just sitting together… very little words spoken between us, I knew she appreciated me.

I don't know what happened to Tara, I haven't seen her since Gran's funeral – the day they came for me. The sun shone brightly that day and I knew Gran was somewhere special. I think I may have smiled when I saw the sunlight streaking through the trees in the cemetery. People certainly seemed to think there was something wrong with me. 'Why isn't she crying?' seemed to be on everyone's mind. I didn't owe them any explanation. No one seemed to comment on Jason's lack of emotion… or his scantily glad guest. Yes her outfit was black, but there wasn't much of it.

After the service, Jason finally approached me alone. He gripped my shoulder firmly within his hand and gave it a squeeze. I looked into his eyes and saw that he was barely holding on, it surprised me. I had been staying out of his mind. I could lie and say it was out of respect to him, but honestly it was more out of respect to Gran. I couldn't stand to hear what he was thinking, especially if it was something petty like who the house would be going to or something. Not then. I wasn't ready for it.

"Sook," he said as he looked down into my eyes, confusion swirling through his own.

"Jason, will I be coming to live with you now?" I asked in a soft voice, breaking the stare between us.

"No," he mumbled quietly, barely able to get the word out of his mouth.

He gave my shoulder another quick squeeze before walking away, back to his guest I guess. My eyes were focused on the two men in suits approaching me, I didn't have time to react to Jason or even start to think about where I would go, who would look after me. I was certain I could look after myself, I had been for the past three days, but I knew they didn't just let kids do that. At least I thought they didn't.

"Sookie Stackhouse?" the taller man questioned in an authoritative tone.

"Yes," I replied meekly.

"Please come with us," the other man said, extending his arm toward a black sedan a few yards away.

"Why?" I questioned, anxiously wondering who these men were and what relation it had to the conversation I had just had with my brother.

"You are now a ward of the government, we will be taking care of your accommodation and education," the tall man replied without hesitation or feeling.

"No," I whispered quietly, to which no one responded.

"No," I asserted, my voice barely above a whisper.

They didn't say anything else and I couldn't get a clear fix on their thoughts, they were unlike anything I'd ever sensed before. One of them reached down to take my arm, and I jumped up, sending the chair hurtling behind me.

"No," I screamed, "Not yet, please, no."

Running to Gran's headstone, I cried. I cried for the loss of Gran for sure, but I think part of me knew… and I cried for the loss of my life, as I knew it.

The men were with the Central Intelligence Agency. Apparently they had been watching me for some time, intent on offering me a job when I turned 18. I say 'offer' but that really wasn't the case. So many of the officers thought they were clever, that they could hide their thoughts from me… but I knew what they had planned for me just weeks into my stay at the facility. I knew, and I didn't tell them because it left me feeling like I still had some sort of control in my life and I desperately needed that.

They allowed me a few weeks to grieve before setting me up in the 'internal affairs' department. They thought they were being kind, that they were keeping me from the horrors of the world until I was ready, training me, preparing me by letting me in on 'little' interrogations along the way. What a load of shit. I heard things no one should know; saw things no one should witness…

It was there that I learned everything is not as it seems, some of the creatures of the dark, the ones you hear about in stories, yes _those_, they are indeed real.

Most of my correspondence, or training as they called it, was with a 'man' named Bill Compton. Of course, they didn't tell me he was a vampire when they introduced us, but I _knew_. I couldn't get a word from his mind, his skin was so incredibly cold (inhumanly cold) when his hand met mine, and to top it all off his haircut was incredibly old fashioned. I remember actually smiling when I noticed his neatly trimmed sideburns; not much caused me to smile back then, so it definitely stands out in my mind.

His eyes held this deep torment within them, like he had no choice but to be where he was (I felt his pain), and though he greeted me casually… 'welcoming me to the team', his eyes were saying 'run little girl, you don't belong here'. My heart still aches remembering that moment, I wanted nothing but to comply with his inner request.

I met dozens of other supernatural creatures over the years: were animals, fairies, trolls, sprites, witches… but never another vampire. Bill Compton was the only being I could never read in any capacity. I wasn't sure if this was a fluke or a symptom of all vampires. But I can tell you, what little free time I had was not spent searching out other vampires, I knew better… I knew that Bill was in servitude to the humans for a reason and that other vampires would not be as kind. I _heard_ stories.

It wasn't until some time years later, when my age was suddenly deemed 'appropriate'… on my first proper 'mission' out into the field, that I met another vampire.

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**Dropping her pen, she thought, **_Perhaps, I was wrong earlier, and this was the true point of change in my life, I can't be sure._ _All I know is that was the day I met Eric Northman, and things haven't been the same since._

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TBC...

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A/N I don't really know where that came from or where I'm going with this but it's in my head for some reason. Should I move to the present, detail her experience growing up in the facility with Bill, or write about when she met Eric. The answer should probably be go back to writing your other story, lol!

Reviews/Critique encouraged! Thank you!!

The lovely Gallathea has offered her beta services :) - expect an update in about a week!


	2. Tricks

A/N Thanks for reading and reviewing! You feedback helps the story immensely :)

And many, many thanks to Shasta for her beta services. This story would not be the same without her!

Also – make sure to check out the story banner in my profile for this story! :)

For timeline conscious ;) - the scenes Sookie and Eric are writing about in this chapter take place in July 1996 when Sookie was 18. The story will slowly work up to 2005 (also featured in this chapter).

**(end of last chapter)**

Dropping her pen, she thought,_Perhaps, I was wrong earlier, and this was the true point of change in my life; I can't be sure._ _All I know is that was the day I met Eric Northman, and things haven't been the same since._

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**(2005 – Northman residence)**

Sookie felt a hand tugging at her dress and quickly scrawled, **Eric – life-changing moment?, **to remind her of where to pick up next time before turning her attention to the most adorable imploring blue eyes.

A few moments later, Eric was skimming the pages she had just written. Chuckling, he put pen to paper and wrote his own recollection of said 'life-changing moment.'

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**(Pen up - Eric) **

My nostrils flared as they greedily drew her scent from the air; my tongue was dry as I moved it against my palate.

As I pictured her warm blood spilling across my lips, coating my tongue, flowing down my throat, my body ached with desire.

I shuddered at the sensations overwhelming my body. I hadn't sighted her yet, but I knew innately that she would be far more enjoyable than my usual fare. I shrugged off the woman I was dancing with; she may have protested, but I was completely disinterested.

Moving to the far wall, I watched the door vigilantly; every cell in my body tensed in anticipation.

I was not wrong; she was exquisite.

She walked into the bar full of misplaced confidence, clearly believing she had nothing to lose.

My, my, the stories I could share with her about what there truly was to lose in this world.

I don't know what struck me harder, the fact I was considering sharing my secrets with her or the fact she was so young.

_S_he was clearly legal—I watched her hand the bouncer identification—but just barely so, I was sure of it. She didn't get the bracelet for her wrist, so she was under the human drinking age of 21.

If I met her anyplace else, I would have put a large sum of money on the fact that she was not a day over 18. It is a shame I had no one to bet with, because I would have won – my, how the US government regards birthdays.

I was out that night at a club looking for a meal. I preferred a willing participant…

_For accuracy's sake, perhaps I should write participants? No… maybe not, this is Sookie's book; she will read over what I write. She already knows more or less what my life was like before her._

I relied on glamour to initiate an encounter only when I had to, but always afterwards – it was risky not to, and I had an entire area worth of vampires under me to consider. There were too many conspiracy theory nuts out there just looking for ways to 'expose' us… and as tempting as it was to simply eliminate them, I knew it would only lend credence to their theories. (I believe this is what you would refer to as a tangent, lover? Feel free to use this information as you see fit.)

She was wearing the obligatory black, but wore it in a way no one else was. It seemed to set off rather than mask her loveliness.

She was wearing black leggings, a skirt fashioned out of a band t-shirt that barely covered her backside, and an enchanting skin-tight tank. It was as if she rifled through her closet pulling out the few black items she owned and stuck them together. It was obvious she wasn't a regular club goer. She walked awkwardly through the crowd, dismissing requests to dance with a grace I had never witnessed before. She was pleasant, but firm, and the sea of people parted for her as she made her way closer to me.

What truly drew my attention was her pale golden hair among an ocean of bottled black, her piercing blue eyes, and the little fuchsia heart nestled in her cleavage. Between trying to figure out the significance of the heart necklace and counting her eyelashes, it seemed like an eternity had passed before she reached me.

Standing in front of me confidently, she thrust her delicate chin forward, moving her eyes upward to meet my stare. Not many dared look me in the eye; I was impressed.

"What do you want?" I asked disinterestedly, as if I hadn't spent the last minute watching her like a hawk as she approached.

Her reply was simple, to the point, "You." I liked it.

"Here?" I inquired, trying to remain neutral.

"Are you parked outside? We could get out of _here_," she said, licking her bottom lip. It was the best proposition I'd ever received, but something held me back and it wasn't my body; I was more than ready for whatever she had planned.

Straightening my back, I narrowed my eyes, refocusing on the tiny creature in front of me. I wanted nothing more than to nip at the soft pink lip she moistened.

She tilted her head and her golden hair spilled across her right shoulder; I watched it pool against her tan skin. When I thought it impossible for her to be any more attractive, my eyes darted to the left and observed a newly exposed patch of skin. As I watched her carotid artery dance teasingly, an idea came to me.

"Would you care to dance?" I asked cordially, putting my hand between us for her to accept.

She was dressed for the occasion, why should she say no? I was watching her intently as she answered; hesitation flitted across her delicate features before she noticeably squashed the emotion.

Holding back a smirk, I was pleased I caused such a reaction within her.

"Sure," she said smoothly, running a hand through her hair and scrunching it seductively as she moved closer. Taking one step to the left to avoid my outstretched arm, she pressed her body against mine.

She rubbed herself up and down my body, stretching up on her toes to reach the uppermost part of my chest.

The fabric of her tank top clung to her and the necklace between her breasts shifted as she moved against me.

My eyes fixated on the pink heart once more until I realized I was still holding my hand out in front of me.

Taking back control of the situation, I decided to see just how interested she was. Placing my large hand on her hip, I nudged the flimsy t-shirt fabric up, and wiggled her leggings down, until my hand was planted firmly on her backside. She looked vaguely surprised, but didn't flinch.

Rubbing my hand against her hot skin, I decided I didn't want to wait any longer. If she was willing to leave with me, I was interested.

I growled softly in her ear, indicating that I was ready to leave; she gave me a half smile as she reached for my hand. I let her lead the way as we exited the building, but I took over as soon as we reached the parking lot. I pointed toward my red Corvette and she nodded.

She followed me to the driver's side of the car and I was slightly confused. She didn't really expect me to open her door for her, did she? She didn't seem like that type of girl. Before I could open my mouth to address her, she pushed me against the car, tangling her little hands in my hair, probing my mouth with her tongue. The kiss was hot and passionate and if it was any indication of how the rest of the night was going to go, I was excited.

She pulled her hands away and I had to consciously stop myself from grabbing her wrists to put them back in place.

Luckily, her hands were only gone for a second. She ran them up my chest and wrapped them around my neck; her touch set my skin on fire.

I only had a half second warning. She jumped back abruptly and before I could draw her back toward me, a large silver net was thrown over me. Four men with silver swords stepped out of the shadows. As they approached, I snarled.

Struggling against the net, I stole a quick glance at the girl. She was biting her bottom lip – not quite so confident now. She turned away as smoke started to rise from my skin.

I was beyond feeling pain; I was absolutely seething. I would have killed the men if given the chance; however, I couldn't find it within myself to want _her_ dead.

I wondered what their plan was; they obviously knew I was a vampire.

I heard musings that vampires were going missing, drained for their blood. Honestly, I believed it to be a myth. But in later years, this filthy practice would become rampant.

Without her distraction, there was no way even one hundred of the government's finest could have taken me in – even if they did employ weres and other magical creatures. But perhaps they knew that, and it made me even more curious about the girl. Curious _and_ turned on.

They dumped me on the floor of a windowless room with a single bed and a chair. I groaned as they removed the silver net; the mesh was partially embedded in my flesh. All I could do was stare at their faces; my eyes blinked rapidly as I committed their images to memory.

When my strength returned, I rushed the metal door. It burned the skin through my shirt and I fell to the floor, landing on my bloody shoulder.

Thunderous with anger, I repeated the action, testing every wall; they were _all_ made of silver.

Frustrated that I was unable to break through the walls, I sat on the bed and waited.

Another hour went by before anyone came. I should have been formulating ways to escape, but reasoned that if they wanted to kill me, they would have already done so.

Instead, I helped pass time by thinking of my mystery girl.

Just moments after I _finished_ thinking about her, the door crashed open and then closed again rapidly. Another vampire joined me.

"Ah, Compton," I said drolly.

"Eric," he regarded me.

"I believe I now understand why Lorena was killed thirty years ago. Servitude with her was not punishment enough?"

"That is not why I am here," he growled, exposing his fangs.

Flashing my own, I stood to my full height – towering over him and asked with only mild interest, "Then why are you?"

To his credit, he didn't back down or waver at all, as many did in my presence. He simply continued speaking as if he was completely unaffected by my dominant display, "The humans want vampires to mainstream… they are working on a synthetic blood. I, along with about fifteen others, have willingly lived on it for the past year; it provides adequate sustenance. As an influential vampire, they are looking to you to participate."

I didn't know the term 'mainstreaming' at the time, but it sounded distasteful to me.

"Synthetic?" I questioned, "As in we won't drink from our prey?"

I looked at him with amusement; he must think me an idiot to agree to such a thing.

Bill cleared his throat loudly, "Yes, in this new plan humans will be our equals, not our food."

I had many clever replies to that statement, but my mind was focused elsewhere.

"What of the girl? How does she fit into this?" I asked.

"She is of no importance," he rushed out before slowly emphasizing each word in the following question, "Will. You. Agree. To. Mainstream?"

I loathed being spoken to like a child. I knew what he was asking of me and I refused to discuss it further. I had more important questions for him.

"I agree to no such thing. Who is this girl? … What is she?"

My questions hung in the air unanswered.

"Compton, you try my patience, _you_ may think you have _decided_ to work for these fools, but do not forget I am your sheriff; you owe me fealty."

"Will you agree?" he repeated defiantly, as if I had never spoken.

"Who is she?" I spit back at him, letting my anger spill over; I was annoyed by his petulance.

"One hour Eric, after that I will not be responsible for what they do with you," he said simply, to which I laughed.

He shook his head silently and exited the room. Allowing my laughter to flood his exit, I turned my conscious mind to developing a plan. They must be mad if they think a vampire would give up hunting simply because they ask. It is in our nature, it is what we are. Equals? No, I think not.

Sitting on one of the wooden chairs in the stuffy room, I closed my eyes in contemplation. The door opened again and I cursed internally at the lack of time I was given.

"Bill…" I seethed, turning in the chair.

But before I even opened my eyes, I knew it wasn't Bill – it was her. I could smell her; her scent was haunting my taste buds and I longed to taste her, her body as well as her blood. I had never yearned for someone in such a way and that was the only thing stopping me from launching myself at her – I was wary, only slightly, but the caution was there. One does not 'live' to see 1000 without some form of self-preservation. Considering she was the reason I was here in the first place, I wondered how well mine was actually functioning.

I took a moment to enjoy her scent and listen to her soft hesitant footsteps before opening my eyes slowly. Our eyes locked and I actively began to wonder what she was doing there. I gave her a cautious, steady glare and she put her finger over her lips. She had a piece of paper in her hand that she passed to me. It said, 'I turned the cameras off, but there could still be bugs hidden throughout the room.'

I eyed her with interest. She was holding out her hand, and I felt compelled to take it… but why? How could I _know_ she was any different from the people who put me in here? It was, after all, her fault I was in this mess.

As my eyes traversed her body, I found myself accepting her hand. There was something non-threatening about her pink slippers and monkey pajama pants. She was sporting another rock t-shirt, too modest as a top… much better as a skirt, and I wondered if she still had the pink necklace around her neck. I didn't dare scare her by pulling her shirt up to find out, though I was sorely tempted.

She led me out of the room, down hallways and up stairs to an exit door. She punched in security codes at several points along the way, her eyes darting around as she chewed on her soft, full bottom lip each time we stopped.

I probably could have let her go at any of these points and found my own way out; none of these main walls were made of silver, and the doors were of little hindrance to me, but something kept our hands clasped, her little hand all but disappearing within mine. I liked the feel of her. She wasn't just warm… she was absolutely on fire, and it sent sparks of electricity through my body.

I tried to shield her from my erection as we stayed close around tight corners and doorways by turning slightly to the left each time, but I'm afraid I wasn't entirely successful. To be fair, it is hard to disguise something so…

He stopped writing for a moment, a mischievous smile on his face. He knew Sookie would omit these 'details' from her story, but it didn't stop him from finishing that sentence.

… plentiful, he wrote, chuckling to himself.

As soon as the cool night air hit my face, instinct kicked back in and I dropped her hand. I ran toward the industrial fencing without another thought of her.

As I began to rise up, to take flight to leave the compound, I turned inadvertently in her direction. She was standing there quietly, holding one hand within the other as if replacing mine. My heart lurched in my chest and I ran back to her, scooping her up in my arms before flying us both over the fence and out into the deserted woods surrounding.

"I can't," she whispered softly in my ear, her cheek warm against my own.

She placed her hand on her chest, in the exact spot where I noticed the small heart earlier.

"It is some kind of tracking device?" I inquired as I brought us down to the ground.

"Something like that," she admitted quietly, disengaging from my arms.

I let her walk away; she slumped against a tree a few yards to my right. I moved closer.

"Tell me."

"I don't know exactly… but I know it isn't a gift like they say it is. It is not the same necklace my grandmother gave me when I was twelve. I have no idea how to remove it. I've tried. It doesn't come off, and now… even if I could get it off, I'm not sure I would want to. I think it may be some kind of explosive… a safety precaution? To ensure that if I left no one could get any secrets out of me."

I watched her intently as she spoke, growing angry as I listened. How dare someone attach such a device to this young woman? I felt she needed to be protected… and yet at the same time, the thoughts I had of her were far from innocent in nature.

She shrugged her shoulders after she finished talking, a defeated look on her face. But she was not defeated, I could decipher that much from her eyes – she was feisty, I knew it. She may have had nothing to live for, but she did have hope that there was something out there. That little shred of hope was all I needed to see.

I closed the gap between us and pressed myself against her. I watched her eyes grow wide before I felt her body relax. Glancing down at her tiny hands on my arms, I realized her grip had loosened considerably. Looking back up at her face, her eyes met mine with a compliance that troubled me.

I wondered if I had somehow glamoured her without realizing it. I chided myself for such an action. I wanted her, but I had no intention of taking her without her consent.

"Eric?" she questioned, my name nothing more than a hot breath from her mouth against my cheek.

I knew immediately that it wasn't glamour – no one questioned me while under my spell.

All it took was one tiny push from her small hips into mine for me to bring my mouth crashing down on hers. I was only vaguely aware of the sirens sounding just a short distance away as I parted her lips with my tongue to taste her again. Her mouth was sweet, inviting, and warm, and I wanted to stay in that moment for the next thousand years, but I had barely more than a minute to spare.

Letting my fangs extend, I bit into her tongue before biting into my own. She moaned softly as our blood mingled in her mouth and I wanted nothing more than to pick her up and take her with me.

She wrapped her arms around me, placing her hands behind my neck like she had done earlier. I felt a small tug and watched her throw something to the ground.

"Tracking device," she said as an odd mixture of emotions flooded her face.

She used the toe of her slipper to crush it into the dirt as she stared at her feet. I tilted her chin up with my finger, but her eyes continued to seek the ground.

"Look at me," I commanded.

Her eyes met mine and I kissed her forcefully. Staggering backward after our kiss, she smiled before urging me to go.

I leaned forward one last time, taking in her scent as I whispered gruffly in her ear, "I'll be back for you, trust me."

I heard a faint 'I do' on the wind as I watched her from the air. Two silver bullets whizzed past me causing me to finally pull my eyes away from her. I turned to seek shelter for the fast approaching day.

**(Pen down - Northman residence) **

"Just what do you think you're doing?" said a voice from behind Eric.

"Ah, just adding a few thoughts to your book my love," Eric replied, tilting the chair backward to steal a kiss from her mouth.

Sookie had one hand on her hip and a small frown on her lips before Eric removed both with a fiery kiss.

"Mmm," she mumbled softly as she all but tumbled into his lap.

He stroked her arm tenderly as he adjusted her into a more comfortable position. Her head was resting against his shoulder and she appeared to be pacified by the kiss for all of twenty seconds before reaching out for the book.

"I don't think so," he said smoothly, pushing the book just out of reach and drawing her close to his chest.

She could feel the faint rumble of a laugh building within him and she smiled and placed soft kisses on his neck and shoulder as the laughter rolled through him.

She sought out his eyes and asked, "Seriously, Eric, what did you write?"

"You can read it later my love, is the baby asleep?"

"Yes, he is," she answered, looking at him curiously.

It was all the encouragement he needed. He lifted them both off the chair and flew them, literally, straight to the bedroom. Laying her back on the bed, he removed their clothes quickly as she giggled softly.

He licked a trail with his tongue from her toes all the way up her body to her mouth, licking the outline of her lips before requesting entry. He kissed her soft, full lips with vigor, enjoying the feeling, as they grew hot and swollen from his attentions.

He drew them greedily one at a time into his mouth, sucking and tasting, letting them warm his tongue as he drew them against it.

Pulling away, he smiled when their eyes met – equally full of lust. He turned her over gently, helping her arrange herself so she was up on her elbows and knees in front of him.

He returned his attention to her feet, placing a long, lingering kiss on each soft, delicate heel. Taking his time, he kissed up each of her lower legs, admiring the toned muscles of her calves as they tensed under his lips.

When he reached the bend in her leg, she trembled as he sucked and nipped at the sensitive skin. It felt like hours to her as he teased his way up her thighs, kissing and licking, adoring every inch on the path to her hot center.

When he was close, he placed one hand under her, low on her tummy, using his other hand to grip her thigh, holding her in place. He lowered his head and nudged her legs further apart, licking her folds.

She struggled slightly at first from the overwhelming sensation, but he used his hands to stabilize her and she succumbed to the feeling and pressed herself firmly against his tongue.

The fervor with which she pressed herself against him as he licked her hungrily back and forth drove him wild, and he dove his tongue into her core as his fingers sought out her throbbing center. His hand quickly brought her to her first climax, and he tasted her hot sticky wetness on his tongue.

Drawing his tongue back into his mouth to savor her, he lifted her up, positioning her just above his lap. He was kneeling, sitting back on his lower legs, holding her up in front of him, a hand under each thigh, scanning her body appreciatively. He paused when his eyes found her breasts, and he moved her toward him to draw a nipple into his mouth. He sucked slowly, drawing light circles around each nipple with his tongue as he pulled her deeper into his mouth.

Releasing her right breast, he kissed a path to the left breast and repeated his actions. Sookie purred as he kissed her breasts, pushing all of her weight down on his hands in a vain effort to get closer to him.

"Please, Eric, please," she murmured, arching her back, thrusting her breast further into his mouth.

"Please what, Sookie?" he asked teasingly before flitting his tongue repeatedly against her nipple.

"I need. You Eric. I want to. Ahh. Feel you inside. Me," she asserted, taking large gasps of air between words.

Their eyes connected as he eased her down onto his length. She leaned into him, her eyes still steadily meeting his gaze. They rocked together slowly, enjoying the sensation as the connection between their eyes intensified.

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They snuggled against each other, sweaty and sated. He licked her shoulder, taking pleasure in the delicious saltiness of her skin after lovemaking.

"I think we should have a shower," she said barely above a whisper.

"That is an excellent idea," he replied cheerfully.

"I didn't mean it like that," she responded, chuckling softly.

"No?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Continuing to laugh, she stole a quick glance at the clock on the side table before answering, "If my calculations are correct, your son will be waking in about half an hour wondering if daddy left him anything for dinner."

Eric smirked, "He is _my son_ tonight, is he? It is peculiar how you adjust his parentage based on your mood."

Looking at him with mock irritation, she replied, "I am almost 100% certain he did not receive his fondness for blood from me."

He raised his hands in defense and admitted, "Guilty, but the doctor did say he could have True Blood."

It was her turn to be defensive.

"I am more than enough for both of my boys," she declared confidently.

"I do love when you call us that, dear one," he said tenderly, placing a soft kiss on her nose and two on her tightly drawn lips.

Softening slightly, she returned his kisses with growing enthusiasm until a soft cry from the nursery startled them.

"I'll go," he said decisively, "have your shower, and we'll be waiting for you."

.

.

.

When she had a free moment, she returned to the study to read over what Eric had written. She nodded her head as she flipped through the pages, admiring his honesty and mentally editing out parts she knew she could not use.

Her cheeks flushed as she remembered their first kiss together in the parking lot.

Picking up the pen she began to write…

**(Pen up - Sookie)**

I did say 'I do.' I did trust him; I'm not sure why. I knew he was a vampire and I had no idea what he was thinking, but there was something about him that was lacking from every other person in my life at that time – he was genuine.

He made no effort to hide what he was or how he felt, even if it was mostly 'turned on', that first night. It was the complete opposite of nearly every person I had encountered. Even Bill… he always held himself back, so I knew this was not a vampire trait, it was just Eric. I had learned his name in my usual manner – just listening in to those around me. That is also how I knew where he was and exactly how to get him out of there.

I had decided to go on the mission (I use the word "decided" loosely) as the alternative was to be shipped overseas into a hostile zone.

Somehow wrangling vampires for this 'mainstreaming movement' everyone discussed seemed less painful. I had already seen my fair share of war through the eyes of others, and I wasn't sure I would survive being placed in the middle of it myself. Not a physical kind of survival as honestly, at that point, I couldn't care less whether I lived or died some days, but emotionally I didn't feel I could survive it.

I was getting through each day on the tiniest shred of hope I would be able to escape this place someday, and I knew if I was in a place like that… well, that shred just wouldn't make it through that.

I cried as I walked away from the spot where he left me that night. It had been a long time since I cried. I had seen too many other people cry, too many others fight until their lives were taken from them and it put so much into perspective for me at such a young age that I felt ashamed to cry. What I was going through was nothing compared to what was out there and I was distinctly aware of it… but in that moment…

… in that moment I let it all go; I selfishly clung to the feelings he stirred within me and I began to wish for more. It flooded my entire system and I was overwhelmed… I cried out. I let the sobs thunder through me as a team of armed men surrounded me, scouting the area for Eric, unsure of how exactly to handle me.

I was so far within myself, it wasn't until Bill arrived that I was even aware of the others. He pulled me to his chest, and stroked my hair, which was damp with tears.

"It's all right sweetheart, he will not hurt you. I've got you."

It took me a moment to realize what he said. _He_ won't hurt me? _You_'ve got me? I pounded my fists against his chest as I struggled to get free. He had no idea! But he should have. He knew what was happening to me at this place… this place that may have been decorated like a Pottery Barn Kids catalog, but was so far from it. I was already damaged.

"Bill, no, no, Bill! No!" I cried, giving up the fight as his strength overpowered me… letting my body go limp against his chest.

He looped my arms around his neck like he had done hundreds of times before when we needed to make a quick exit and I caught a quick glimpse of his red-rimmed eyes before he zoomed us back to the base.

He paused for a moment when we reached the fence. He looked left and right, and at the time I thought it was to see how he thought we would make our way over the fence, but later he told me he was thinking of taking me away – from the CIA or Eric… I'll never know which.

TBC…


	3. Home

A/N I apologize for the delay. I can't say it's that I had any great block or anything… I've just been reading more than writing – there is so much great stuff out there!! So thank you to the people that gave me a little (or not so little… Sam) push – I really appreciate it!

A brief summary as a reminder (not that I doubt _your_ memory skills haha but for the few out there like me…): _After Gran died of natural causes, the CIA took Sookie. She was 15 at the time and held in a facility in Louisiana with other gifted youths. Her main contact was Bill Compton, a vampire, because she could not read his thoughts. _

_In coordination with other worldwide powers, the US government was attempting to start a forced mainstreaming movement - beginning with the vampires. When Sookie turned 18, she was given a "choice" between being sent overseas to aid war efforts or remaining in LA to help wrangle vampires. She chose vampires because otherwise this story would have been terrifying… and I'm not up for that. She met Eric on her first night officially 'on the job'… and the rest is history… err, this story. :) _

And a huge, monster sized THANK YOU to **Gallathea** for her beta skills. She made this document readable – lol! And her thoughtful comments are seriously the best review of all :)

Any remaining errors are "cute and intentional" on my part because Sookie is writing a book and it hasn't been edited yet… (ha ha)

* * *

**(Northman residence – 2005)**

Sookie watched her two handsome boys nod off slowly, locks of golden blond hair slipping over their eyes as they drooped forward slightly on the couch. The sun would be coming up shortly; she could almost sense it now herself, and the two of them would soon be lost to their daytime sleep.

Mason fought it harder (he always did – he got his stubbornness from his mother), blinking rapidly as he yawned, while Eric, on the other hand, set his head on the back of the big chair in complacent defeat, holding the toddler snugly against his chest.

They had been watching another shoot-em-up style cowboy movie, and for as much as Sookie didn't want her little one to grow up with violence, she couldn't help but smile when Mason and Eric roughhoused, even if little (or not so little in Eric's case) finger guns were employed.

Sookie was aware that as the mother of a veritable Viking vampire (no matter how tiny), she was really pushing it by keeping a sword out of his hands. He certainly had his father's penchant for fighting and he was only twenty months old. She sighed as she looked over at them cuddled up in an old armchair. It was a sight she never thought she would witness – but there they were, like twins, falling asleep – their only difference being size.

She caught the last little glimpse of cerulean blue as Mason's eyes finally closed for the night and she put her hand over her heart. Her fingers tenderly stroked the soft fabric of her t-shirt and it was still a surprise to her that there was no necklace around her neck – no tracking device, nothing. She was free (relatively).

They had moved to Switzerland a little over four years earlier, and while things were relatively peaceful there for vampires, Eric was right, Mason would have to be trained eventually. Her vampire husband didn't have a title or position here, though the other vampires in their area seemed to revere him.

He had, after all, been a well-respected member of the European vampire community before joining Sophie-Anne in Louisiana. But they still had things to be wary of, the least of which was that the US government still considered Sookie a rogue asset… and a greater concern yet was that the new King of Louisiana, Felipe de Castro, had also put forth a claim on Sookie and their young child.

Sookie was quite confident in Eric's ability to protect them and knew that when the time came, their little warrior's skills would be equal to his father's.

Even Sookie had learned how to wield a variety of swords over the years; Eric had an extensive collection in his study upstairs and it took little convincing to get Sookie interested. She had received hand-to-hand combat training through the government and had an excellent eye when using a rifle or handgun. It was a natural progression for her to pick up a sword, and she liked the power she felt when holding one in her grip. She felt close to Eric, as if they shared a connection, when they both had a sword in their hands.

And maybe they did. They had a connection no one could deny – they were blood bound. Not many vampires bound themselves to humans and that made their relationship unique. Since she was 'other' herself, it introduced something further to their union, and even they weren't quite sure of its exact development or what it would mean for their future.

The entire house was safe from light during the day, so really she could have left them on the couch and watched them all day. The idea did appeal to her and they probably wouldn't have moved at all – but there was a nagging motherly voice inside her that told her bed was where people slept, even Viking vampires and their miniature replicas.

Sookie pictured their large cedar early-American style bed, remembering the antics Eric and Boone had gotten up to earlier, some sort of version of hide and seek (with guns of course), and giggled softly.

Eric had given their son the nickname Boone the second he set his sights on him. Sookie had followed suit sometime later, though she raised hell in the beginning. She had spent weeks scouring baby books and internet websites to choose names and Eric had convincingly told her she had free reign… but still the mini Viking became Boone.

Sookie could only laugh at the quirk of fate. She might have expected Thor or even Loki… but Boone?

Eric surely was one of a kind… and there was no dissuading him when he had his mind set on something, though he swore it wasn't premeditated… Sookie still has her doubts.

She was pretty sure it had something to do with Eric's reading material at the time. Since they had moved to Switzerland, he devoured books voraciously – there was simply no stopping him.

Sookie guessed it was because part of Eric missed being Sheriff, though he never would agree with her. At the time, American History particularly fascinated him. He hadn't been in the US while it was pioneered and he thought the whole thing was highly entertaining. And of course, Daniel Boone had become a particular favorite. It could have been worse. She could have delivered the baby when he was reading The Odyssey; Boone was significantly cuter than Odysseus.

Letting her hand fall to her side, Sookie walked toward her drowsy duo, shuffling her feet as she called out to Eric softly, "Eric, baby, you're falling asleep. Here, let me take Boone, and you can head to our room."

Eric's eyes fluttered open as he recognized Sookie's voice. He stood up, setting little Boone down on the chair, and stretched to his full height. Wondering if Eric did it out of habit or was showing off (she still wasn't sure), Sookie walked toward the chair to scoop up Boone, but Eric put a hand out.

"I have him min söta päron. He won't be so little forever."

Her heart sunk in her chest. Eric was right - Boone wouldn't be tiny for very long. She nodded her head quietly and Eric gave her a quick kiss on the lips before sauntering off toward the bedroom with Boone, who was completely lost to daytime sleep, nestled in Eric's arms.

Sookie stood in place for a moment, uncertain of what to do. She had planned to do some writing that day, but she suddenly wanted nothing more than to cuddle her two special guys. She dashed into the kitchen to retrieve the quaint, little chicken-shaped timer. She turned the dial, setting it for an hour, and snuck into the dark bedroom.

Eric registered her presence with a rough grunt as she snuggled herself into his free side. With his wife in one arm and his son in the other, Eric smiled as he surrendered to the strong desire to sleep.

An hour later, the little chicken sung out with its telltale shrill ring. Sookie buried her face in the crook of Eric's arm, wishing she also wasn't disturbed during the daylight hours. But it was a good chance for her to get some writing in… so she reluctantly got up onto her knees, leaned over to give them both a quick peck on the forehead, and slid out of bed. Neither of them moved as she placed warm kisses on their cool foreheads. She supposed it would be incredibly morbid for any other mother/wife, but to her it was peaceful and serene – things her life hadn't always been.

Sookie wrapped herself up in one of her light blue cardigans and put on Eric's slippers. They were about five sizes too large, but she liked shuffling around in them. It was another small reminder that he was there, that their life together was real no matter how obscure it seemed at times.

She walked to the library, clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth when she saw a large, presumably new, box of books in the hallway outside the door. They must have arrived that day when they were all sleeping; Eric probably brought them in while she remained asleep. The man was insatiable.

Fighting the urge to peek into the box to see what he was currently obsessed with and if he had gotten anything for her, she sat at the desk and opened her notebook. She quickly read over the last bit she had written about Bill, knocking the end of the pen absently against her cheek as she contemplated what to write next.

Sookie remembered some advice she picked up from an author at a book signing about writing notes: they didn't have to make sense to anyone else, they didn't have to follow any particular order, and if the time wasn't that important to _her_, it wouldn't be to readers, either.

There was really no need to chronicle every day she spent at the facility, and there wasn't any particular reason to return to that night either. Not much else had happened. Bill had returned her to her room and she went to sleep. She hadn't even dreamed of Eric; she dreamed of far worse things since she had no control over her mind that night.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

I'd like to write that Eric came back for me the next night, that we ran away and I never saw or heard anything bad again, but that just wasn't the case.

A few weeks went by, during which I hardly saw anyone – it was like I was quarantined for bad behavior but no one came out and said so. No one yelled at me or told me they were disappointed – I knew. And what were their plans? Something about changing the codes and locks… yeah well, I overheard those too. I don't know how much more I could give them when they clearly didn't have a firm grasp on what being a telepath encompassed.

I was pretty much left to my own devices, which really wasn't in their best interest. How do they think I came to train my mind to pinpoint their exact locations and thoughts anyhow? Yeah – too much free time. They should have invested more time developing extracurricular activities for their "young minds."

Man I hated how they referred to us as that. And the way they said it – like we were ripe for the picking… As if we grew from a tree waiting for them to come by, shine us up on their sleeve, and place us 'lovingly' in their pocket…

Sure, we would look pretty for lunchtime, but what happened when they were finished with us – when we were completely chewed up with little left but a core. I wasn't even sure I had that much left… there were definitely those in the building who didn't. Were they simply cyanide-laced seeds?

So there I sat, in that ridiculously pink room, for weeks, ruing the day the CIA decorator was born and preparing sarcastic replies for when they did come to question me…

Yes, your _every_ thought. Otherwise what would be the point?

What's that? _Don't_ listen to the guards? Uhh yeah, I'll do that… (never trust a telepath, come on, who _isn't_ that curious?)

… and just plain "Are you serious?" came to mind quite often.

But they never came… neither did Eric.

As the days passed, my hope that he would be my much desired savior waned. I was stuck between feeling _sad_, like I had somehow built up the moments between us to be more than what they were, and _pissed off_ that he made a promise he didn't intend to keep.

Then, there were the times I almost believed I could feel him – my heart would flutter erratically and my skin would flush – and I just felt helpless. It was as if he were so close to me I could taste him, and I hated my body and my mind for giving in, for letting myself get carried away by the feelings.

I had spent three years preparing my heart, relinquishing it to the void that was my life, and it killed me that he had taken that away from me. I didn't like having feelings. The only one I was on a first name basis with was anger and even then Bill told me to let go of it, that it wouldn't get me anywhere but dead. Then, maybe that's how he died – I have no idea where any of Bill's 'sage' advice came from. He wasn't the sharing type.

I had believed that somewhere along the way he would open up, give me a little piece of something to help understand him and his ways but it never happened. Not even when he kissed me. Instead, he just ran away.

**(Pen down)**

Sookie paused as she tried to decide whether to write about Bill and her first kiss. She still wasn't sure exactly what the direction of the book was going to be about, so she figured it couldn't hurt. It was on her mind, so she began to write…

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

They (by they I mean government agents, it feels silly calling them that though… note to self: come up with better way to say 'they' when referring to useless tools that tried to ruin my life) wanted to bring in another vampire to handle me when Bill was being particularly difficult one day and he completely lost it.

'Difficult' for Bill was complaining about my outfit selection and the fact they had a _teenager_ learning the "art of seduction." He was so old fashioned; however even I wondered if they were crossing some kind of line.

Though, they themselves were the line-makers so I highly doubted they cared. And really – I liked most of the outfits. They made me feel sexy when Bill sure as hell didn't. He turned away from me time and time again. I couldn't help but push his buttons; maybe I had a problem with authority… or maybe it was just the fact that he was a very attractive man and I liked the idea of being wanted for more than my telepathic abilities.

I didn't need to read his mind to know he was attracted to me; he gave away so much through his eyes. I also knew that he didn't want to practice seduction techniques with me, but he didn't want to push me off on anyone else either.

So there we were, Bill threatened by 'them' and me, perched on a chair, wondering what was going to happen next. Would he do his job? Leave? Would someone else come and replace him? Another vampire?

As my mind was racing, I didn't have a chance to realize he had stepped closer. I was jolted back to reality when Bill placed his hand on my knee and began moving it against my soft, heated skin.

The way his cool hand felt sliding up my skirt… well I never thought I'd ever feel anything that intense again. I kissed him that day. It was my first real kiss – passionate, fiery. I had the nerve, at 17, to think it was romantic, that he had some kind of feelings for me, but Bill said he wasn't interested (many, many times).

Though at the time, it felt quite different. He nearly attacked me – returning my kiss greedily before licking down my jaw line to my neck, running his tongue feverishly along my skin to locate my pulsating artery.

I was sure he would bite me and all I could think was – fair enough. It was a possibility on the job, so I reasoned away that it was still training… plus, the throbbing from my moistening center was urging me to let him continue.

I had spent all that time with him as a vampire, but I had never before seen the vampire so clearly. It was the first time he was coming out to play, so to speak. Of course he had used his strength in the past to get us out of binds and his speed for quick exits, but the sexual side… that was entirely new to me.

Hearing the click of his fangs as they extended into place, I rubbed my hand against his length through his pants. He jumped backward, dramatically increasing the distance between our bodies, and looked at me peculiarly, like I wasn't supposed to know how to touch him. Clearly, it had never reached that point before and though I was comfortable with it – he wasn't.

He said goodnight in the sweetest, most cordial/nice way possible, but it left me feeling stung as if he had just slapped me across the face. I was reeling. All the sexual tension inside of me came to a peak and I was dying for release.

I had a long, hot shower that night, exploring my body as I thought about the power I could have over a vampire. Granted, not all vampires would be as starved as Bill was… Maybe that played some part in his reaction because he seemed fixated by my neck/blood whenever he was close.

Of course, at the time I didn't know quite as much about my ancestry as I do now, but I did know that the formula for the synthetic blood couldn't be quite right yet, because Bill was very snippy when he was surviving on it alone.

He was altogether different after he had been out. There were a few nights a week when he left the complex (I was not allowed that privilege; I wondered what he had done to deserve it) and he came back distinctly happier. It didn't take a telepath to know he wasn't subsisting on True Blood alone.

(Eric, sweetie, if you're reading this, and I'm pretty sure you are – yes, everyone will know you think Bill was a coward; don't fret, you'll like the next bit much better.)

I had a feeling from when I first met Eric that he wouldn't have loathed my training the way Bill did, and that made me smile. Though like I said, the sentiment faded as time passed. I was in hot water with the agency too – that didn't help things.

They weren't happy I knew how to get to Eric and that I was able to open all the secure doors. I kept my talent pretty under wraps – well as much as I could… they had no idea I could target individuals and pull thoughts out as I stayed there.

Why? I guess mostly because I didn't want them to know; I was saving the information. I knew the day would come where all the stored information would come in handy and, lo and behold, I was right.

Their answer? Move me to another facility. There it would be just Bill and me… with all other communication by phone so I couldn't pick up on their thoughts, _how fun._

Did I mention they referred to the facility as **home**?

**(Pen down) **

**(Northman Residence – 2005)**

Taking a deep breath, Sookie stretched in the chair, flexing her feet as she raised her arms up over her head to get the blood flowing once more. She was starting to get sleepy, but she had set a goal for the day – to get past Bill and back to her time with Eric, so she wasn't quite ready to call it a day.

Walking sluggishly to the fridge, she pulled out a glass pitcher of sweet tea. She set it on the wooden countertop and moseyed over to the cupboard that held the glasses. Standing on her tippy toes, she reached up for one of Eric's large glass mugs. She just felt like using one in that moment. She wasn't even sure why they owned them; the one time Eric drank a blood out of one he had made a mess. She teased him saying that he had gotten too used to drinking straight from a bottle (or her) – he was worse than Boone.

Of course Eric had just smiled at the time and asked for a little help cleaning up. She didn't mind.

After placing the pitcher back in the refrigerator, Sookie dropped a few ice cubes into her drink and stepped outside. The sun was bright that day, blindingly so at first, but she welcomed it with open arms. It was unfortunate, she thought, that their son would never know the pleasures of the warm sun against his cheek.

Truthfully, she wasn't entirely sure he couldn't be out in the sun, but she wasn't willing to take any risks. It seemed clue enough to her that he slept when Eric did, not when she did. She wondered if she would ever join them in their immortality. Eric had offered… and she hadn't exactly said no, but she wanted to have a few more children before she made any _final_ decisions.

She wasn't sure they would ever be able to impregnate a female vampire, and it wasn't a risk she was willing to take.

Sitting on the porch swing, she lost herself to silent contemplation.

Ice cubes melted and the glass began to sweat in her hands; little drops of water made serpentine trails from the lip all the way down to her hand. The cool water woke her from her trance and she shook her head slightly as she tried to focus back on her story.

She drank down the remaining tea before heading back inside for the day, closing and locking the door tight behind her.

Sookie rinsed Eric's glass mug and placed it carefully in the dish drainer, stretching her legs and arms again as she walked back to the library to write a bit more.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

I didn't wait for Bill to open the car door for me. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, before the car even slowed to a complete stop, I chucked the door open and ran toward the house. I was completely out of breath by the time I reached the front door and I stood there, my chest heaving slightly as I stared at the door I hadn't seen in nearly 3 years. I placed my hand flat against the door and let a single tear trickle down my cheek.

I felt Bill join me and I squeezed my eyes shut tight, willing them to dry up to be void of emotion once more. He stuck the key in the door and I'll forever remember the sound of it turning in the lock.

The anticipation was almost more than I could bear; I didn't know if the house would be dusty or if things would be exactly where I left them that morning. Would my cup of sweet tea still be in the sink? Had anyone cleared out the refrigerator?

I wondered if Tara was still in town or if I'd be able to see her. If my brother knew that they let me come home, or if he had left town when I did… I wasn't sure exactly how much of my life he had signed away that day so many years earlier but I tried not to let the rage build within me as Bill pushed open the door and took the first step inside, flipping the first switch on the wall to illuminate the tiny entryway which led to the living room.

It was…

…horrible. It wasn't my house… It wasn't Gran's house. It was clearly some awful impostor and I tried my best to hold in the disappointment I felt. If they had even ever been to Gran's house they couldn't have done this; did they know anything? Why bother to make the outside the same if the inside was so far removed? Did they just have satellite photos of Gran's house – could they not take the time to walk inside and make this replica nice for me? My mouth hung open as my thoughts ran wild in my head.

"Sookie…" Bill said tentatively.

"No… no…" I had reverted to a state of disbelief.

He placed a hand on my lower back and eased me forward, guiding me toward the living room. He flipped another switch and a few modern looking light fixtures turned on. I shook my head, it just wasn't right.

"Where the fuck are we, Bill?" I said when my mind had enough sense to speak.

He visibly winced at my language.

"We are in Bon Temps. This is your house. My house is just across the cemetery."

I think he was pointing toward it, but I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to give a shit.

"I don't believe you. You're lying to me. This is _not_ my house. I have never been here before."

"Sookie… I…" His hands fell limp at his sides; there was a look of unease on his face. He was trying to let me in; Bill could show emotion when he wanted to and he _was_ choosing to. I had a feeling he wanted to comfort me, but he made no effort to step forward and try.

"Just say it Bill, just fucking say it."

I was tired of his hesitance and I was tired of thinking something or someone was going to rescue me. If this was the best my life was going to get, I wanted to know what it was. I wanted to know _where_ I was.

He shook his head softly; maybe at my language again, maybe at his own misfortune for having to be the person to break bad news to me all the time, I had no idea.

I didn't spare any guilt for him; he had gotten himself into his mess somehow. He never told me how, but he kept coming back after spending time away so I figured there was something. If given the choice, I'd run and never come back. I could never owe anyone enough to do anything that wasn't in my best interest.

"Sookie, I would not lie to you. We are in Bon Temps. I apologize if the house is not to your liking. I did suggest they leave it the way your grandmother kept it. It would have been possible for them to update the security without ruining the décor; they wouldn't listen. I… tried."

"Thanks for that then," I mumbled. I couldn't exactly kill the messenger, though I wanted to kill someone for destroying Gran's home.

He must have picked up on my mood because he smiled in an attempt to lift my spirits, his genuine full-of-southern-charm, make-a-girl-go-weak-in-the-knees smile. Even I was slightly susceptible – emphasis on _slightly._

"Cut it out Bill," I said jokingly as I hit him on the arm.

He laughed and then straightened up.

"They assured me there was food in the kitchen. Now if you believe you will be fine for the evening, I will be taking my leave."

"Seriously? Don't you want to play checkers or watch TV on this stupid thing here," I asked, kicking the stand the flat screen television was on. Good grief, if Gran could have seen it…

"Seriously," he said in an almost mocking tone. I stopped digging through the refrigerator to turn and smirk at him, but when I did there wasn't a smile on his face to play up to. He was just watching me intently, expressionless. I had lost him again.

"There are matters I must attend to at my residence before dawn comes."

"Yeah, yeah," I said dismissively, and he left through the back door. I watched out the kitchen window as he sped across the graveyard.

Reaching up, I ran my hand from my neck down into my shirt, feeling for the little pink heart. As I cradled it in my fingers, I wondered exactly how far I could get in this little town – if I could leave the house at all. I also wondered if just anyone could get in. With no minds around to pick for answers, my questions just stayed questions.

The silence was deafening and I tried to pull thoughts from my surroundings, but no one was close enough. If this was indeed Bon Temps, I guess it made sense. Gran had a lot of land; we had enjoyed our privacy. I could sense Bill across the graveyard just where he said he'd be – just the one black void was all I could feel.

He was alone.

I had something to eat, showered, and went to sleep. I decided to sleep in the room that had been Gran's since it had a bathroom attached. "My" room bore little resemblance to my own anyhow after they butchered it. But in Gran's room, I scraped a little patch of paint away to find her flowery wallpaper and I smiled. It really was home… even if it didn't feel like it.

In the middle of the night I woke up in a cold sweat. My heart was beating wildly; I was thinking of Eric…

I sat upright and my mind started churning. I felt a vampire mind and it was close, much closer than I would have expected for Bill. I had to work harder than normal to focus on locating the presence because my body was in overdrive.

Then I heard a slight rapping on the window. Looking over at the window I saw… golden hair. It was Eric – he found me.

I ran to the window, unlocked it quickly, and begged him to come in. He said he was still surveying the property but would come back the next evening if I desired. I nodded my head with more enthusiasm than I had ever displayed before and then silently cursed myself for letting on how interested I was.

Of course, he chuckled slightly and reached in to take my chin in his hand.

His kiss was as potent as I remembered. He kissed my entire face, and there was this one spot he found behind my ear that sent sparks racing through my body. I was so on fire for him, that by the time he got to my lips, I completely devoured him.

We spent endless minutes caught up in each other, his hands running through mine, my fingers lost in the golden, wind-whipped tangles of his. He drew me closer to his body until I was halfway out the window, snugly pressed up against his chest.

Eric was as cool as the night air, but the chills just enhanced the toe tingling sensations I was feeling. I gave myself over completely, and when he pulled back and moved me safely back through the window to my room, my lips were still parted to the air.

Opening my eyes, I witnessed his mischievous grin once more before he departed. My whole body was melting; I was sure I would be a puddle on the floor if he had stayed any longer.

The next day could not have gone by any faster. As soon as nightfall came, I wanted to get to my bedroom to wait. Bill had even offered to play checkers and I rushed my way through it, letting him beat me easily. I never lost my cool, but Eric got under my skin.

About an hour after I got rid of Bill, there was someone at the door. I shot out of bed and ran to the door, hardly caring that I was only in a long t-shirt. I opened the door and surprisingly, no alarms went off, I didn't explode… nothing happened. I squinted to see in the darkness as a crouched figure stood tall in front of me.

It was Bill and he had a present?

I looked at him with interest though inside I felt deflated. I had let the hopes I thought I had gotten rid of weeks ago get the better of me and let myself be disappointed. Of course it wasn't Eric. Maybe he hadn't meant it when he said he would be back for me. Why would he? Who was I to him anyway? But then, why had he turned up last night? She found herself puzzled, but decided to go with coy. She wasn't sure Bill would give her the package if she said it might be from Eric…

"Bill, I don't understand why you woke me up now for this. Couldn't you have given this to me earlier?"

He looked at me oddly. "Sookie, I didn't bring this. It was here when I got here. I picked up a peculiar scent and I came over to check it out. This was here."

"Well, if it was at my house, it must be for me," I said as I reached out for the box.

"I don't think that is such a good idea Sookie; we should have this package cleared first to make sure it's safe."

"Bill, don't be a stick in the mud. Who else knows I'm here? It's obviously from the department. Maybe they let Amelia send something, who knows. Just let me have it okay?"

His grip on the long rectangle shaped parcel loosened, and I pulled it away from him. His eyes were dark and contemplative, but I ignored their unspoken warning. Nothing to live for, remember? If someone wanted that badly to come kill me that they had to sneak a cranberry colored wrapped box with a gold bow and a flower on my doorstep, well let me just die, I thought.

"Should we take it inside?"

What? Bill was asking me questions now?

'Sure Bill, why the hell not,' I thought, though I didn't vocalize anything. I just walked back in the house – whether he followed or not was up to him. Always the protector, he followed.

I sat down on the floor in the living room and removed the oddly shaped flower from the top of the box. I held it in my hands for a minute and gave it a little twirl as I tried to catch a scent from it. I really didn't even know where to put my nose; it seemed a bit dirty to me.

Bill watched me cautiously.

"Orchid," he said nonchalantly as I placed the flower back down on the floor.

"Right."

I slipped the paper off carefully. I was never the type that dug into packages – I always liked to savor the unwrapping. The box inside was white and it said Bloomingdales in bold black lettering. So far, it didn't seem like a bomb. I still had no idea who it was from (though I had my fingers crossed) – there was no card on the outside.

I slid the top off the box and rustled through soft pink tissue paper. I felt something silky and pulled up. It was a long crimson nightgown and I immediately knew whom it was from. Eric. I did my best not to blush as I held up what was basically lingerie in front of Bill. Our relationship had crossed basic coworker range a long time ago (probably the day we met), but this was too much. I dropped the nightgown back in the box and turned to Bill.

"I think it's safe to assume it's not a bomb. You can go home; thanks for stopping by to see what it was."

"I'm not leaving tonight. There is a place for me to stay here when the sun comes up."

I could have argued with him, but really, what was the point.

"Suit yourself. I'm taking this into my room."

When I got back into my room, I dumped out the contents of the box onto the bed looking for evidence that it was indeed from Eric. I couldn't think of anyone else with enough gumption to send me such a thing, but there was still a teeny seed of doubt in my mind that sent me looking.

And there it was under the matching ruffled tap shorts – a small envelope. I slid the note out carefully and read it over twice.

I will be back for you tomorrow – wear this.

Yes, I checked it over thoroughly. That was all it said. I wondered why he was putting things off.

There was another note waiting for me when I woke up. Though not nearly as pleasant and _it_ was signed.

Do not leave the house today. I will see you at sunset. – Bill

**(Pen down)**

**(Northman Residence – 2005)**

Sookie yawned – the need to sleep was catching up with her and she decided it was time to join her boys in bed for the day.

She closed the journal and placed the pen back in the desk drawer. Her eyes did a quick scan over the desk, making sure everything was in order before she left the room.

When she slid into bed, she lifted Eric's arm and placed it back around her. Before long, she fell asleep with the comforting thought that it was as if she never left.

Sometime later in the early evening, Eric rose. In an attempt to sit up, he noticed that both of his shoulders were occupied and he chuckled softly. He moved the arm from under Boone first as he knew not much would wake him this early, and then he shifted Sookie gently, placing Boone with her so that she was lying on her side cradling their baby in her arms.

She stirred slightly, but not too much and he nodded in appreciation of his smooth maneuvering before he glided out of the room quietly.

Eric got something to drink and then set about unpacking the box of new books in the library, placing most of them in their proper categories, but leaving a few out – the ones he wanted to read later that week and the couple he ordered for Sookie.

It wasn't long before the little brown journal on the desk caught his eye and curiosity got the better of him. He had a feeling his notes were helpful to Sookie's writing, so he thought he'd jot down a few more in contribution.

**(Pen up – Eric)**

When I left Sookie the night I was taken captive, I wondered why I told her I would be back for her. The strong tug I felt to return to her made little sense to me.

I had also given her my blood. I hadn't done so in at least a century, and my rash decision gave me reason to pause. What was different about her? There had to be something because it went further than just physical attraction. I literally felt compelled to go to her, that I owed her, which was unusual. Our slate should have been clean.

It also irritated me that Bill had not answered my questions about her – I had no idea what she was, what the government wanted with her, what plans they truly had for her and I…

But then, these thoughts left me angry with myself. Why was I bothered?

Nonetheless, the first thing I did when I returned home was call my child, Pam, for assistance.

I also began contacting vampires in an effort to locate Bill Compton. The task should have been unproblematic, but he was being evasive. He would pay for his mutinous ways; I did not tolerate disobedience.

When Pam arrived we went on several reconnaissance missions to the place where Sookie was being held. I could feel her so strongly during those times; there was an ache deep inside each time I left without her. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, but we didn't have enough information to go in. I was still waiting to hear from Compton. I had summoned him through the proper channels, but he had not responded. He was truly testing my patience.

It was nearly three weeks after I contacted him that he showed up at my place of residence. Pam answered the door.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. You aren't looking so bad for someone who is living on, what was it Eric called it? Oh yes, synthetic blood. Who ever heard of such a thing?"

Pam looked completely disgusted by the thought and continued speaking when Bill continued to stare at her blankly. "So, how _is_ that working out for you, Bill?"

Pam had phrased her statements as questions, but both she and Bill knew they weren't meant to be answered. He glared at her and she stood aside, a faint smile present on her face. She outranked him, but only slightly, and she made sure he knew it as he skulked into the room looking for Eric.

"He is out having his meal. I expect him back shortly; he hasn't taken nearly as much pleasure in them lately. But you know Eric. He doesn't use glamour; he likes a challenge. I don't see the point if you aren't fucking them, but then I've never been much for following Eric's code."

"It's interesting to hear you say that," I said as I stepped out of the shadows, maintaining my composure. I was quite sure neither of them had been aware of my presence, and I was rather unhappy that Pam had thought to divulge my recent disinterest with my meals to Bill Compton. I also found it unacceptable that Pam had not been aware of my presence; as my child she should have known.

One look at her let me know that she had been taken by surprise. I wanted to scold her, but it was not the proper time. Compton had my full attention, though I masked my interest with boredom.

"Eric, my time is limited. I have pressing matters to attend to. May I ask what it is you seek from me?"

He was being recalcitrant at first; one stern look had him singing a slightly different tune. Lest he forget who was in charge here.

"You will tell me about your position with the Central Intelligence Agency."

"Eric, I have signed contracts…"

"With humans?"

Bill looked to me defiantly, with a fire in his dark eyes, effectively answering my question.

"You are testing me, Compton. My good will only stretches so far. You have two choices, and I can tell you now, telling me what you know of the girl is the better one."

"And the other?" he asked in his sickeningly sweet, southern dialect.

He deserved the other just for that.

"I will advise the Queen of your insolence. It would not work out well for you."

I spared a glance to Pam, who was practically giddy with excitement. She cackled, and Bill looked at her dismissively. I let her carry on for a brief moment before silencing her with an icy stare. She instantly regained her composure, taking a place on my left.

It was a little more 'wingman' than I needed, but it elicited the much-needed response from Bill.

We spent the next hour discussing the human telepath known as Sookie Stackhouse and the vampire mainstreaming movement; the pieces started to slot together in my mind. Bill answered all of my questions, some more reluctantly than others, and I let him go when I was satisfied. He would be dealt with later; there were more important matters at hand.

"Well, Pamela, I believe our mission will be simplified if Miss Stackhouse is moved to her residence in Bon Temps."

Pam snorted. It was the only indication she gave that she thought our mission was just a ploy on my part to get closer to Sookie. I explained to her the value of having a telepath in our retinue and she nodded obediently, intelligent enough not to question the fact I had learned of the girl's true nature that evening.

Pam and I spent the next few days surveilling the property Bill detailed. And I knew as soon as Sookie had arrived – I could feel her. I had been waiting for that opportunity for weeks, and it was finally upon me.

I had visited her two nights before and then had Pam leave a gift for her the night prior…

I was pulling up in her drive, the tugs of her lust pulling me in faster as I slammed the car into the parking area. There she was: my angel, my light, standing on her old rundown porch. She was wearing the nightgown I had purchased for her, her hair flowing freely down her shoulders, framing her blue eyes. In vampire speed I was in front of her, but not touching her. Those watching needed to know she would belong to me after this night, and what better way than for her to reach for me first. I waited, eager for her to show her desire and need for me and me _alone_.

I could see and feel the lust within her, echoing my own. Sookie understood what I wanted; she raised her hand to cup my cheek.

"I was wondering when you would get here," she whispered seductively. The tone of her voice and the sight of her full, pink lips brushing together forced my undoing. I could not hold back any longer.

I embraced her body in my arms and crushed my lips powerfully against hers. I ran my tongue across her bottom lip, demanding access.

Sookie opened her mouth, inviting my tongue to mingle with hers and let out a soft moan in my mouth as I moved my hands to cup her backside, pulling her up so that her legs were wrapped around my hips. She felt so good up against me; it was reassurance enough. My mission had been worth it.

Her hands tangled themselves in my hair, tugging and pulling as our tongues continued to fight for dominance. I could feel her need for me grow more persistent and I knew she was aware of the reason I had come to her. With that point firmly implanted in my mind, I walked us through the front door and closed it shut.

When I tried to set her down, she grinded roughly against my throbbing member. I instantly needed her closer, so I moved to the wall. Pressing her hard against it, my mouth went to her neck, nibbling and sucking at the soft spot behind her ear. The same spot I found only two nights earlier.

Sookie cried my name and I could tell she was enjoying the new feelings I gave her. My hands started to lift her nightgown up to gain access to her body, but I felt her hands push down against my shoulders. I looked up at her, confused. I was sure we were of the same mind – what was holding her back?

"Eric, not in here," she said sheepishly, looking down; there was a soft, pink blush rising up in her cheeks. It would be her first time; I had not realized that before. I was instantly determined to make it special for her. She would be spoiled for all other men. If I were honest with myself at the time, I would have realized before we even touched – I was spoiled for all other women as well.

Without another word spoken, I started down the hallway to her room. I noticed she had lit candles and placed them on all the flat surfaces of the room. I smiled at her.

"Dear one, I want this to be special for you. Will you trust me?" I hoped she would allow me to taste and touch her in ways she couldn't imagine.

The blush in her cheeks spread to her neck. "Yes, Eric. I trust you," she said, sealing her promise with a soft, lingering kiss.

I placed her on her feet and looked down at her. I reached out and stroked her cheek with my fingertips; she trembled slightly under my soft touch.

"I will not hurt you."

"I know."

With her declaration, I placed my hands on her shoulders, threading my fingers through the small spaghetti straps. I pulled them down slowly, letting the fabric gather in my hands as it slid gracefully down her body, giving her every chance to ask me to stop.

She gasped quite suddenly when I halted the decent of her gown at her breasts and I looked to her, anxious to know what she desired. Feeling intense lust and affection through her blood, I dropped the hold I had on the soft, silky fabric and let it fall elegantly to the ground. It clung to the curves of her hips for a moment, as it slithered softly, and my eyes grew wide. I had never seen such a beautiful creature, not in 1000 years.

The sight before me would have left me breathless if I relied on breathing. Sookie looked at my face bashfully and attempted to cover herself. I reached for her arms, blocking their egregious path.

"No lover. You are exquisite."

I kissed her lips and moved her to the edge of the bed. She laid herself back against the pillows, and I removed my clothing utilizing my vampire speed. She gasped when she saw my length.

"Eric, is this going to hurt?" she blurted out. Utterly innocent, I reminded myself as I held back my desire to chuckle. The gorgeous vixen that had occupied my thoughts for weeks was a little apprehensive, and I behaved accordingly to ensure her comfort. There would be countless opportunities to tease later.

I sat on the edge of the bed beside her and lovingly placed my hand on her stomach. "Lover, I will not hurt you. I promise. We will take our time tonight; there is no rush. When you are ready, tell me."

She nodded her head and lifted her arms expectantly, exposing her perfect, full breasts. I took her delicate wrists within my hands as my eyes surveyed her flushed skin; blood had raised to the surface, tinting her fair, dewy skin a rosy pink.

"Kiss me," she said softly.

Her words were but a whisper, yet my sensitive hearing picked up the yearning in her voice and I struggled to hold myself back. Every thing within me was telling me to take her, to ravage her until there was nothing left. It had been centuries since my vampire urges were heightened in such a way, which served as another reason to take things slowly.

Running my fingers skillfully along the inside of her upper arms, I flashed a brilliant smile that belied my intentions. I placed light, feathery kisses down her arms.

"I want to give you pleasure, Sookie. Will you let me?"

She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. I moved, arranging myself so that I was lying beside her, and kissed her deeply once more on her tender, pink lips. I placed kisses all the way down her chin to her neck, allowing my fangs to graze the soft skin behind her ear.

Sookie moaned, indicating that she wanted more, so I inched my body lower, kissing down her collarbone to her breasts. I sucked and nibbled on each one, savoring her fresh, innocent taste.

Her hands tangled in my hair, pulling and kneading; pressing my face into her soft breasts harder, begging for me to suckle them.

I chuckled and looked up at her. "Impatient, lover?" I leered at her; she answered with a strained groan.

Not waiting for a verbal answer, I trailed kisses down her body to her stomach. Slowly I came across her blond curls, nuzzling them with my nose. I lowered myself between her legs and she gasped.

"You will enjoy this. I promise." She looked at me with innocent eyes, full of desire and heat.

"I trust you, Eric," she whispered huskily. I leaned in and placed a single kiss on her folds. Her head tilted back with pleasure; I couldn't have that.

"Sookie, I want your eyes on me as I pleasure you. I want you to watch what I am doing to your body. I want to see your face when my attentions bring you to climax."

I looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to acknowledge my request. Her lustful eyes met with mine as she nodded and I expressed my gratitude with a knowing smirk. She would come around to my way of thinking; she would enjoy it as much as I did.

I slowly lowered my head, looking into her eyes, making sure they were on me. When I was sure she was paying attention, I reached my tongue out and slid it between her folds.

Her head fell back and a moan escaped her lips. I stopped abruptly and her eyes locked with mine. Again, I slipped my tongue into her folds, licking up and down. She was already wet for me, but I wanted more. I didn't want her to have any discomfort the first time. I placed a finger at her entrance and watched as her eyes dilated with need. It took all my control to keep myself from ravishing her body until dawn.

As my finger slid into her wet, warm core, I thought of what it would feel like to enter her. She was so tight, so ready, and it was all for me. I moved my finger slowly in and out, taking delight in the noises escaping her lips as her body responded to my attentions. With her eyes still focused on mine, I moved my tongue up to her clit, teasing it with a slow circular motion.

Feeling her need grow stronger, I slid another finger in, crooking two fingers inside to find her soft spot. After moving my fingers determinedly inside, she let out a yelp. _Gotcha._ I continued to work my fingers inside her, moving at a steady pace.

When her walls started to contract around them, I placed my lips on her clit. The reaction I got could not have been more pleasing. She bucked and squirmed, grabbing frantically at my hair, digging her nails in my scalp.

"Oh… Eric… Yes, Oh… Yes," she screamed as she climaxed. Her eyes stayed locked with mine while she recovered, enjoying the intense aftershocks.

I made my way up her body, kissing en route. She shivered from my touch, and grabbed my face in her hands. She needed more of me; I could feel that. I lay my body on hers, keeping my weight on my arms. I gave her a deep passionate kiss, letting her taste how incredible she was. She opened her legs and wrapped them around my hips. My throbbing member was begging for entrance, and she had me at her opening. I stopped kissing her for a moment.

Her eyes were full of affection and need. I wanted her to be prepared. "This will hurt for a moment, but it will get better." Without a word, she kissed me softly and I responded by tenderly stroking her hair from her face.

I pushed forward slowly, matching the speed of my kisses with my entrance. I pushed in a few inches at a time and then slid back, letting her body acquaint itself with my length. I kept inching, two forward, half back, until I was completely buried inside of her.

I looked at her face; there were tears falling down her cheeks. For a moment I thought to stop, but she grabbed my face and kissed me roughly, arching her back, urging me to continue.

I quickened my pace and she met me thrust for thrust. She curved her back, pressing against me strongly, and moved her hair aside to expose her throat. It was as if she could sense my desire for her blood.

I bit down on her throat, bringing her to a powerful climax. The heat from her body as her walls contracted sent me to my own intense climax. I held her against me as our bodies shook with pleasure, but long after the reverberations subsided, I could feel her body trembling under mine. I looked into her eyes and saw tears forming once again, threatening to spill over. I rubbed her cheek softly, coaxing them along, and this time I licked them away.

**(Pen down)**

**(Northman residence – 2005)**

Eric heard two sets of footsteps approaching and he set the pen down on the page, turning around in his chair in anticipation.

He greeted his family with an endearing smile and Boone quickened his footsteps, half hovering in the air as he ran toward Eric. Sookie reached out in an attempt to steady the toddler, but he was much too fast for her. She wasn't exactly sure when he would start flying; the very thought of it made her anxious.

As she watched Eric help Boone up onto his lap, she shook her head; she had noticed the pen sticking out of her journal on the desk… And she was pretty sure she knew what Eric had written. He was clearly not listening when she told him it was not _that_ sort of story. _Oh well_, she thought, _knowing Eric, it'll be worth reading… perhaps even re-enacting._

Sookie grinned and Eric looked over at her curiously. She winked at him, relishing the fact that she was still able to keep him on his toes.

* * *

A/N if you appreciated the nookie – make sure to send **Sunkisz** a thank you. She wrote that section for me :) hehe

And please leave a review if you're enjoying the story – not only does it give me the warm fuzzies, but it also helps me gauge interest and decide the direction the story will go in (more action/fluff/future etc.). Thank you!! :)


	4. Replicas

**(Northman residence – 2005)**

And on her toes she was most of the day, with very little time to write. All she really put down on paper was – _Fangtasia, the second time_ when she was able to steal some time away; the boys were roughhousing in the other room and hardly noticed her absence. She was surprised that she'd been gone nearly an hour and no one had come searching for her. Usually they were looking for a mediator by that point, or maybe just a way to keep her feeling involved, she wasn't sure. Either way, she had expected to be interrupted.

She was also astounded she hadn't naturally gone to round them up for dinner, her attention was so focused on what Eric had written in her journal. If she had any doubts about what Eric felt for her when they met, she no longer did. His words confirmed what she'd always felt – their relationship was far more than coincidence. She could hardly wait to get him alone.

"Dinner! Bedtime!" Sookie shouted, dropping her pen on the desk.

The soft pitter-patter of mischief whizzed by her and she stuck an arm out, anticipating the second blur.

She swooped him up in one expert move and settled him in her lap.

"You wanna tell momma what you're doing sweetie?" she said, taking stock of his teeny leather breeches and felt cowboy hat.

"Hunting down Longshadow," he replied with a sugar sweet smile. She was leaning in to give him a teeny peck on the nose, when he continued babbling, "Daddy and I are going to drain the worthless moron!"

She had to hold back both laughter and mortification, as she knew either would simply spur him on…

When vampires came out, so to speak, Eric had opened his club to the public, and had a partner called Longshadow who had embezzled money from him. He had still not gotten the money back and her Viking sure did know how to hold a grudge. Not that she was any less guilty of such things; her heart held a great deal of resentment and sometimes she wondered if Eric was on to something by bringing it out in the open and making a joke out of it. Though a joke was far different than a game with a child, who could potentially take things the wrong way.

"Mommy needs to talk to Daddy, okay?" she whispered softly, pushing baby-fine, blond curls behind his ear. Sookie set him down on the floor and gave his bum a little push in the other direction. He ran off with a start toward the living room.

And with just as much saccharine as her son had described slaying, she called out to Eric, "Love, would you mind coming in here for a sec?"

An identical blur made its way into the room, though significantly larger than the last.

"Eric! You cannot teach him to hunt _anyone_! Sheesh! And this? I'm starting to wonder if the cowboys and indians game is bordering on… on prejudice. I let it slide for a while because well, okay, you both looked adorable in your get ups, but now? Eric! Don't laugh! He'll hear you!"

He continued laughing; of course he just laughed.

"Well, I have to say Eric, the _moron_ was a nice touch. Learn that one in your ESL classes in the 1970s?" She jabbed him in the ribs and he pretended it hurt.

"No, I picked that up on my own." He gave her a sparkling smile. "Would another word have suited better?"

"No! That isn't the point. He can't go around thinking he is going to hunt people down!! Isn't this why we chose a neutral country? So we wouldn't have to fight anymore?"

Eric's heart fell. He was so used to fighting being a part of his life, he frequently forgot it hadn't always been the case for Sookie. She'd had a proper life once, a family to care for her. Not that she wasn't an excellent fighter - she was - but she'd done enough fighting for five lifetimes.

_There has to be a compromise between training our son and not encouraging violence,_ he thought, deciding not to push the issue with her at the moment – not in that state, with her arms crossed over her chest and her bottom lip out. He knew better. She'd be more pliable… later. _Perhaps after she reads over the last passage I wrote in her storybook_, he thought with a smile. _If she hasn't already, that is_. He hoped he'd not missed out on a good opportunity.

She gave him a good thump on the backside for smiling, and then scurried out of the room before smiling herself. Something about touching that particular part of him always gave her cause to grin like a fool.

"Okay, my son, we will not be using the word moron again," Eric instructed.

Boone looked at him curiously. It was a bit too much for a toddler to comprehend, but he smiled nonetheless and it reminded Eric of Sookie.

"Yellar livered scumbag?" said the little one, testing the waters.

_Yup! That'll do,_ Eric thought.

Then, incapable of holding back, Eric's booming laughter filled the room, soon followed by the tiny blonde Viking, racing around the room giggling and shouting the word scumbag.

From the other room, she couldn't believe it… and then again, she could. A look of sheer defeat befell her and when the boys meandered back into the living room, Eric's laughter died down considerably, while Boone was still on high volume. Eric scooped the raucous child up and reached for Sookie, drawing her close with his free arm.

"Dinner and bedtime, did you say?" He leered at her.

"Yes, that's what I said."

"No more fun," pouted Boone.

Eric looked at Boone incredulously. It was one of his favorite parts of the day.

Sookie took Boone and sat down in one of the armchairs, snuggling him up against her chest. The miniscule vampire bit down with force, though Sookie did not so much as flinch. Eric watched them proudly as he gathered toys from around the room and put them away.

He was extra careful when he reached for a tiny bow and arrow set, taking extra steps behind one of the chairs to avoid Sookie's eyes.

"Don't think I didn't see the weapon, Northman. We'll talk about that later," she called out.

He turned and watched her; she had her eyes closed and was rubbing Boone's back soothingly. The picture of calm, though the fire within her never truly went out. He could feel it flickering, even with her eyes closed, and while he frequently enjoyed provoking her, it was not yet the time.

He kissed his wife and son on their foreheads and went to the bedroom to wait for Sookie. When Boone was down for the day, Sookie came to him, standing in the doorway as he sat in a side chair, thumbing through an old book.

"They were merely replicas my dear…" he said, slipping a piece of paper in the book to mark his page. "You could not be so cruel as to withhold supper from me this evening." He eyed her doubtfully.

She let him wait it out a few moments, watching his slow, cautious steps toward her.

And then he lifted her up high in the air and she started laughing.

"No," she laughed, fitting in thoughts between giggles, "I would never do that." … "I can not be upset if it was a plastic replica, I suppose. Though you bet your sweet ass I'll be testing them tomorrow for sharpness."

He strode with purpose to the bed, placing her down gently, leaning down to kiss her. She scooted back, narrowly avoiding his lips and he advanced, pressing his weight against her to keep her pinned.

Intending to kiss her again, he moved forward. Sookie turned her head to the side, keeping her smile in check. Not bothered, he placed several kisses on her temple, cheek, and neck. She wriggled beneath him and he moved slightly, sliding his knee between her legs.

_Let her wiggle against that_, he thought with great pleasure.

Her movements were inadvertent at first as she continued to participate in their playful struggle, but then she began to move against him in earnest, meeting his kisses with her mouth as she ran her hands through his soft hair.

"You read my newest amendments to your story?" he questioned, pulling back.

"Wha? Ohh… yes."

She blushed furiously and placed her arms on his shoulders, pulling him in close for another kiss.

"I will not hurt you," he murmured with a smirk, sliding her top up over her stomach.

"Ohh, Eric," she cooed, hands tugging at his clothing in turn.

.

She pulled a tanktop on and slipped into some shorts, quickly tying her hair up in front of the mirror before shuffling down the hall to the office.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

My second visit to Fangtasia was quite different to the first. The atmosphere was very much the same, but the capacity with which I went the second time, as Eric's… (actually I didn't know what I was to him then) made the occasion feel heavy with importance.

It seemed odd to call a vampire my boyfriend, though I guess that's what he was. Even though I had no clue if he was faithful to me or if he felt the same way I did.

And of course, I was outwardly cynical when we talked about things, telling him I didn't expect anything of him, but appreciated his help. And when things got to be too much, I'd taunt him, ending discussion with sex. At one point, I had myself convinced that was surely all he wanted; we were having enough of it that I was positive he had no other use for me.

He'd laughed at me when I told him as much, reminding me that for the most part, I was the instigator and he trusted that I'd talk when I felt comfortable, that he didn't want to push.

_What if I want you to push_, I thought. What if all I wanted was someone to give a fuck? And in that moment I realized I would always be my own worst enemy. I'd longed so badly for someone to fill the hole Gran left in my heart, I hadn't noticed how much I pushed people away, how dependent I'd become on the void in my life that I was actually hesitant to fill it.

I was holding us back; I was the one taking advantage of him.

Not that he ever _complained_, mind you…

He'd negotiated with Bill (I didn't ask what that included, maybe Eric will enlighten me now? It's a constant surprise the things I remember when I put pen to paper) for me to leave the house. We were both relatively nervous; I half expected to explode between the car and the club, what with the little pink heart of whatever it was as a noose around my neck.

If I had been more careless, I'd have tried to run away with Eric the second I climbed in his car that evening. But something in Bill's eyes told me not to, when he explained how he'd mucked with the system to buy me some time and space. I didn't understand a word of what he actually said, but I trusted him with my life and I knew his knowledge of computer systems far exceeded my own.

I was much more adept with knives than a keyboard, still am. I suppose that's why I'm writing this all by hand right now. Well, there is that and the fact Eric believes someone might find us if we had a computer hooked up to the internet. All sorts of information can be leaked that way. And while we reside on neutral territory, things could slide from good to awful in a short span of time. Extreme wariness went hand in hand living with that understanding.

We entered Fangtasia through a side entrance, which led to a long hallway, presumably where the offices and restrooms were. There were a few people queued up, leaning against the wall further in and I could hear loud music pumping through speakers only a few yards away.

He gave my hand a squeeze and smiled. In a way it was a trip down memory lane for both of us as I'd gone ahead and dressed the same.

Something I'd continued to do for some time afterwards as it always got a rise out of him. I only stopped wearing that t-shirt a few months into my pregnancy actually, when I was no longer physically able to tug it over my enormous belly.

Eric led me ahead to one of the offices, pulling me inside for a little pep talk I guessed. He rubbed my arms, starting with 'we can leave whenever you want' and ending with 'don't stab anyone unless you're 100% sure.' It forced a laugh out of me.

"I promise," I said softly, standing up on tiptoes to reach up and kiss him. At the same time, I completed a mental scan of my body. I wasn't wearing much, so I didn't have as many knives on me as usual, but I wasn't completely unprotected. And I liked to make sure I knew where to grab in any given second if needed. Eric completely threw me off my game when it came to that.

He groaned and shifted against me, pulling me into his chest, then quickly releasing me again. I counted again – one at my hip, one at each side of my bra, my left shoe…

"I planned for us to end up here, not start here," he said with a smirk.

"Better go out there then," I said bravely, a shiver traveling up my spine.

"Mmm, And everyone will know you are mine," he said gruffly, rubbing a hand against my thigh, knowing full well I had nothing on under the makeshift t-shirt skirt; I'd forgone the leggings this time around.

I didn't have time to get a word in edgewise before we were surrounded by darkness and thumping music. Not that I had anything prepared anyway, what would I have said anyway? 'Oh, okay, pal. As long as you're mine too'? Yeah…

On the dancefloor, he moved with grace I hadn't expected and a sexiness that I had, though it still made my head swim and my knees buckle. More than once, I was sure I was only standing upright because I was pressed so tightly against him.

I wondered if this was what the life of normal teenagers was like, well to a certain degree anyway. I'd watched movies; I thought I knew what people got up to. But then even in my surreal life, attempting to seduce Bill, it never felt like it did that night.

And I was scared out of my mind the first time I stepped into Fangtasia. Eric may swear on his life I was the most confident woman he'd ever met, but I'm telling you I was the furthest thing from it. All I had was an unhealthy interest in getting the hell away from everything I knew. Not caring if you ended up dead is not quite the same as not fearing the process.

In contrast, this time I did feel sexy, empowered, and I had a healthy dose of nerves to keep me in check. And I had my knives; I always felt better with them. I'd left them behind the first time knowing that I would be close to Eric and he'd catch me for what I was if I was loaded with sharp objects.

After a couple hours of dancing, he asked if I wanted to sit down. I nodded. I didn't particularly want to detach from him; it felt right to be held so close, rubbing against him… but I couldn't deny my feet were in agony.

I began to follow him through the crowd, toward what looked like…

_Good grief_, I thought, _he wasn't lying when he said he had a throne_.

And to my utter embarrassment, he picked me up in his arms, sat us both down and signaled a waitress to take our order for drinks. I went with an age appropriate pineapple juice with club soda and he ordered a blood concoction. He'd actually begun to stock the bar with an assortment of the thick, gloppy beverages the government was trying to pass off as blood.

I wanted to tell him it was unnecessary, that he could drink from me later… in his office if he wanted, but before I could say anything, the drink was in his hand. It looked real enough, though maybe more like blood a couple hours old, disgustingly thick.

He didn't drink much of it, though I guess enough that it made an impression on the crowd. I could instantly pick out all the vampires in the room; their brain signatures were different and a few of them were walking around with similar cocktails.

At first I had been afraid that I'd find the crowd and all the human minds in it overwhelming, but in such close proximity to Eric and the soothing blank void he created, it wasn't a problem at all.

I could still reach out to people and pick up what they were thinking just as I'd done growing up in the institute. Targeting was a specialty of mine and Eric found it amusing, pointing out people in the crowd for me to read. The thoughts in the room were mostly sexual, some so depraved I couldn't repeat them. Eric knew straight away when to direct my attention elsewhere; I must have been turning as red as a beet.

"My little blushed apple," he called me, stroking my cheek after hearing the thoughts of a group of college girls swarming around a male vampire who appeared to be from the pirate era.

"And why don't you dress as a Viking?" I teased back, nipping at his earlobe.

"Would that interest you?" His eyes lit up.

"Very much," I replied honestly, imagining him in wool and linen, perhaps even chainmail, his hair tied back away from his face, playing the part of barbarian.

_I wonder if he has any antique weaponry_, I thought curiously. For the scene playing out in my mind and also out of genuine interest - I was a connoisseur of weaponry at the time. Things have changed a bit since then, though Eric can still get me excited by showing off a weapon now and again.

"We were not all barbarians, you know," Eric said, rousing me from my dream world.

"Huh? Oh, I know," I replied, trying to pretend he had not just burst my fantasy bubble.

"For you though," he started and before I could begin to anticipate his next sentence or move, he had me up and slung over his shoulder.

"Eric!!" I squealed, pretty sure my goods would be on display for anyone to see.

"Don't fret lover," he replied, jovially patting my half exposed backside.

I was burning with indignation by the time we got to his office and when he set me down on the desk, I yanked on my skirt so hard it came off.

He chuckled, stepping closer as he took in the sight.

"I didn't realize it'd be so easy. I was not even forced to change my attire. Had I realized it took a simple brute act, I'd have been slinging you over my shoulder ages ago lover."

My cheeks were on fire, yet there was no way I was hopping off the desk to pick up my skirt. In for a penny…

Taking the final step toward the desk, he pushed my legs apart, brushing his hand up my thigh.

Our eyes locked and my irritation waned, swiftly replaced by need.

.

**A/N** Another story I intend to finish. Will most likely update this one on a weekly basis. I've got it outlined though, unlike Lucky. So 9 more chapters planned after this and the ending is already written. :) So, yeah, let me know if there is still interest in this one? And I promise I'll pay more attention to it and get chapters out in a timely fashion. xo Cass


	5. Drawings

A/N Thank you for your response to this story! I'm trying to give myself a deadline of each Monday to have a chapter out. I know I've failed already, haha. We celebrated my boyfriend's 28th yesterday and had a busy weekend with a convention he was working. Our life is not usually that hectic, trust me. ;) So in future, please feel free to give me a kick if it's Monday and I haven't posted.

_____

_Taking the final step toward the desk, he pushed my legs apart, brushing his hand up my thigh._

_Our eyes locked and my irritation waned, swiftly replaced by need._

**(Pen down – Sookie)**

**(Northman residence – 2005)**

_I'm getting as bad as Eric with the intimate details here,_ Sookie thought as she pressed the back of her hand against her cheek. There was nearly as much heat radiating off of it as there had been when Eric had taken her on his desk at Fangtasia.

But boy, just thinking about him could work her up into a tizzy.

Her lips were rough and dry when she licked them and there was a faint throbbing between her legs that she was trying her hardest to ignore.

_A cold drink! For heaven's sake, I need a cold drink. _

Rushing to the kitchen, she skipped the glass and went straight to the fridge, pulling out the apple juice. She was the only one who drank it anyway, she reasoned as the cool liquid slid down her throat. It didn't quite quench what she was hankering for, but it went a long way toward lessening the pink hue of her cheeks.

Needing to get her mind (and other parts of her body that wouldn't listen to reason) off of her currently-dead-to-the-world vampire, she unlocked the front door and slipped outside for a spell.

The sunlight was almost too much for her to handle, but she squinted and dealt with it. It might leave her with a headache, but she didn't mind. The world smelled special during the day, she thought and it reminded her of different times.

Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feeling of the sun's rays on her fair skin and she thought back to her childhood with Gran.

_I wonder if Gran would even recognize me now. _

She was referring to more than the fact her skin was no longer sun kissed bronze.

For many years she hadn't considered what Gran would think, it hurt a part of her inside that she needed to ignore to survive, but after being with Eric and certainly after becoming a mother, she found moments of reflection peaceful. She could hear Gran in her mind as if they were still together and it soothed some of her loneliness.

It wasn't that she wasn't grateful with Eric and Mason. Truthfully, it was more than she'd ever expected of her life, but the isolation was sometimes a lot to swallow, particularly in the early mornings when she was alone and found herself missing the few people she could call friends or family – Gran, Amelia, and Pam. And she didn't have to ask Eric directly; she knew he felt the same.

He went from being a highly respected sheriff to a vampire on the run with a price on his head and now something she supposed he'd never planned for – a husband and father.

_How did I go from turned on to melancholy?_

She took another sip of juice straight from the container and then placed the cap back on, saying her goodbyes to the sun as she made her way inside to go to bed.

Sookie stopped by Boone's room, spotting one of the _replica_ arrows on the floor. Picking it up, she tested it against her thigh and then her hand to see how sharp it was because it sure looked pointy.

_Sure, this might have been a replica for play in the 50's when they sold toys made of tin, _she concluded as she looked around the room and gathered the other little metal-tipped arrows strewn about the room.

One was even stuck in the wood of the baseboard.

_Not sharp, my ass! _

Considering her options, she knew Eric would probably enjoy _a talking to_, so instead she just sighed. Boys and their toys!

Sookie put the arrows down in a pile and rubbed the sore spot on her hand where she'd pricked herself just moments earlier. In vain, she tried to remember when she'd had her last tetanus shot. How ironic would it be to die of tetanus from a toy when the rest of your life was far more hazardous?

Brushing aside the silly thought, she made her way over to the small bed. For a little guy, Mason's took up most of the bed – width ways at least, he wasn't quite tall enough to fill the bed yet, though Sookie had taken the hem out of many of his pants just a week earlier and she doubted it would be long before he did.

His small body was dead in the center and then limbs were splayed out in all directions: legs at odd, almost uncomfortable looking angles, with one arm nearly reaching the wall, and the other visible as just a few fingers hanging over the edge of the bed.

Kneeling down on the floor, she reached for the tiny, coiled fingers holding the edge of the mattress. As soon as she'd lifted his hand, his fingers instinctively curled around her own. In the early days, little reflexes like that were like small blessings from God. She couldn't even begin to count how many times in the past she had cried against Eric's chest, _"Eric, he's dead. Our baby."_

There was no protocol; they had no one to turn to with questions and it alarmed her that he slept _much_ longer than Eric in the beginning, not to mention she wasn't sure if she was even feeding him correctly.

Eric comforted her by saying, _"Babies sleep, Sookie. In fact, I will quote the one thing Pam told me about babies when she let me know we were having one, 'All they do is eat, sleep, and poop. Why would anyone want one?' Now to be fair, my love, she might have been leaving some things out. I think she enjoyed her place as only child." _

It became their running joke when Sookie was upset. _Eat, sleep, poop, _they would chant in chorus until worry was replaced by laughter. It didn't go exactly like that as he'd never needed diapers, but it was nearly the same.

Having long come to terms with the fact that both her husband and child _were_ dead in a way, she simply sighed, scooping her baby up into her lap carefully, so that his hand stayed gripped around her fingers.

With her free hand, she rubbed his cool cheek and then adjusted him so he was tucked just under her chin. She lay down on the bed on her side, knees tucked up, her arms still around Boone in front of her and she quickly fell asleep.

.

"Sookie?" Eric whispered, walking into the bathroom, looking for his wife. It was not entirely unusual that she should get up before him, but her side of the bed looked completely undisturbed when he woke up.

Putting aside thoughts of the worst, he quickened his pace and kept his voice low, checking each room of the small house.

He found them in Boone's room, nestled on the bed like two puzzle pieces. Leaning against the door jam, he let his head fall forward. He hadn't gone on complete alarm, but had he been alive, he had no doubt his heart would be thudding dramatically in his chest; the vampire equivalent of adrenaline was still coursing through his system.

"Eric?" Sookie mumbled, looking up through the darkness. It took her eyes a while to adjust, but she could see him framed in the doorway by the light coming from the hallway.

"Shh, go back to sleep min söta päron."

It didn't take much convincing, though she mouthed, "Eat, sleep, poop," before falling back asleep.

The explanation was clear to him.

He ran a hand through his hair and made his way to the kitchen slowly, pulling a True Blood out of the cabinet when he got there.

The cabinet contained a reserve supply, _for emergencies only_ Sookie said, though he found himself sneaking a few now and then when she was emotionally drained. He knew she was always more than willing to give and that's why he didn't allow himself to take too much from her… though it would be easy to. He feared they might quickly reach a place there was no coming back from. As it was, her tolerance to the sun was diminishing and she was sometimes so pale, he had to check her for a pulse to be sure.

It was true that his age meant he required less blood, but combined with the amount their child needed, it was taxing on Sookie, whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not. Plus, there had had been great progress made with the synthetic blood.

He'd even heard from Pam, in one of her last letters, that the Japanese were creating substitute meals for vampires that looked more like human food. He had no interest himself, but Pam thought it might be novel for the bar and possibly attract younger vampires, so he gave her the go-ahead to continue looking into it.

Why Pam continued to ask him about the business perplexed him, the title was in her name, by all legal rights she owned it, along with anything else he left behind. He wasn't sure if she did it for his benefit or hers, but guessed it was a little bit of both. She'd even offered to send his things, along with anything Sookie wanted, but he kindly declined. Large items were easily traced. Even her letters were few and far between as it was dangerous to send anything; they had to be carried by hand and there was a great deal of trust placed in each party along the way.

Not that it was any secret they were in Switzerland. They had chosen it particularly because vampire (and human) politics were neutral there. But their exact location was guarded. He didn't trust the US government or his ex-vampire King and he was right not to.

After he finished the True Blood, he washed out the glass bottle and went for a walk outside, depositing the empty container in a box at the back of his shed. The modest structure contained all the weapons Sookie deemed too dangerous for the house, except his broadsword and two of her knives which they kept under the bed, and had some crazy, state of the art recognition system to get in. It had been a housewarming gift from Amelia.

He dragged his knuckles along the corrugated metal as he walked back to the house, listening to the soft 'thump thump thump' as he moved.

Eric was tempted to stay outside, the weather was lovely and he could smell the flowers Sookie had planted as seeds a few weeks earlier; they were just about to break through the ground. A few more days and the yard would be covered with tiny green shoots.

He'd even joked with Boone, who had decided to eat a few handfuls of seeds when Sookie had her back turned, that he could smell them sprouting within him. This had given the boy a good laugh, while Sookie fretted over what would happen. Nothing did, though Sookie wasn't keen to let him try much else.

Not when they couldn't call for assistance if they needed it. They'd seen Dr. Ludwig a few times when they had been traveling through Europe and it'd been risky, nearly getting them caught once or twice. The doctor was now under class 3 surveillance and they couldn't afford to contact her unless they were in dire straits and there were no other doctors they trusted.

But he was curious to see what Sookie had written in her book, and went back inside. He was quite proud of her for getting it all out. Their past, and the one she had before him, had preoccupied her mind at times. Not that she was one to ever dwell or complain, but he'd wished he could rid her of the shadows he sometimes saw in her eyes.

It was almost as if she went somewhere else and it might have been selfish, he thought, but he wanted her 100% with him in the present. Eric never poked or prodded, waiting patiently for her to make those steps, even when he thought it might kill him to watch her live like that. He had to constantly remind himself that he'd had over a thousand years to make peace with the evils of the world. Sookie was only in her early twenties.

However, since she had started writing, he could already see subtle changes in her that showed she was reconciling and moving on.

Enough time had passed since the events they wrote about unfolded and yet, it was also good to be reminded. It would be quite easy to fall into a comfortable complacency in that small house on the hill. But it wouldn't be a wise thing to do.

_I hope we have more time here. _

_._

He skimmed over what she'd written, frowning at sections and chuckling and smiling over others. It was right on cue.

_Well, I see that your details have gotten better lover, _he mused, scrawling his thoughts as a note in the margin._ Perhaps you don't need my assistance after all? _

_Too bad. You'll be getting it anyway. _

He drew a little love heart after the 'anyway' and then flipped to a completely empty page to begin writing.

**(Pen up - Eric)**

While I believe readers will be astute enough to know, I might as well put it out there for your benefit, as it seems you had some doubt in me.

I felt the same. And I took pleasure in no one else, not after I started visiting Sookie at her house and very rarely before. From day one no one compared though I admit to letting a few try and never emotionally, just… well, you know. I had to eat, that's how I justified it. And a part of me thought I could work the beautiful, troubled young woman out of my system; that she'd just roused my libido, not my heart. I was a fool.

And I was 100% unequivocally Sookie's when I brought her to Fangtasia. I wanted to show her off as my own as much as I wanted to express my intentions to remain hers for as long as she'd have me. Holding her in my lap on the throne, I'd never have guessed where my public declaration would take us. Somewhere with her? Yes. Had to be. But in Switzerland with an infant of my own making? No. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined it and I would not change a thing.

I would still have lifted Sookie up over my shoulder and taken her that night and all the ones that followed.

**(Pen-down Eric)**

He was thinking of all the things he wanted to write next: how it enticed him that she'd mentioned weaponry, about her old band t-shirts, perhaps a few things about why he started carrying the synthetic blood products disguised as 'cocktails' at the bar, when he heard a loud noise outside.

Then an insistent knock at the door.

_Unusual, we rarely have visitors. And when we do, we know about it far in advance._

He moved to the window and slid the night blinds up to get a better look. After realization hit him, he rushed to the door, opening it to usher Amelia in quickly.

"Eric! Oh good, thank god. You'll have to forgive me; I would have written ahead, but I didn't have time. Where is Sookie? Is she here?"

"You are alone?" he asked, pacing the kitchen, pulling down the security shutters and locking them.

"Yes... At least I think I am."

"You think? That is not good enough. You are a friend to Sookie and to me, but so help you if you've endangered my family tonight with your visit."

"Eric!! This is not a social call. Where is Sookie?"

Her eyes were wild and Eric lost all powers of speech for a full thirty seconds.

_Not now. Not here. _

"Well?!"

He cleared his throat, and then pointed down the hallway. "In Boo… Mason's bedroom, second door on the right."

He followed behind, hanging back in the doorway allowing Sookie and Amelia a few moments to enjoy their reunion before they addressed the unpleasant reality of why she was there.

Amelia knelt down by the bed, her eyes welling up with tears when she saw how big Mason was snuggled up against Sookie. He was only a few weeks old when she'd last been with them and it killed her that they couldn't see each other more. And even after thinking that, she wished she didn't have to be there then. They were safer alone; she knew that. It's why they had this arrangement in the first place.

She placed her hand on Sookie's shoulder in bittersweet anticipation.

"Sook? Sweetie?" she whispered softly.

Sookie woke up confused because she recognized the voice immediately.

"Amelia?" she asked in a daze.

"Yes," Amelia replied solemnly. Under any other circumstances, she would be glad to exclaim 'Yes, it's me! Now give me a hug before I smoosh you to death!!'

Eric stepped forward and slipped Boone from between Amelia and Sookie so they could embrace. They looked comical, grown woman, sitting on a tiny bed locked in a hug that seemed like it would never end, and he was thankful for the moment of humor. He cradled his son in one arm, and watched them from the hallway. He felt guilty spying on their teary reunion, but he knew whatever would be coming next would concern him, so he stayed put.

Sookie was loaded with questions when they finally pulled apart.

"But how? Why?"

"I honestly don't know. Bill sent me. Sookie, he's gone completely rogue; he's no longer with the agency or following the King of Louisiana. Something must have happened. Be happening. Gosh, I don't know. I hate not knowing. Someone broke into my apartment; they took everything I had that had to do with you. They… they took the only picture I had of Mason. God, I'm sorry Sookie. I know I shouldn't have kept it."

"It's okay Amelia, it's okay."

Sookie held Amelia to her chest and stroked her hair in much the same way she'd done with Boone so many times.

Amelia sniffled and choked out a laugh.

"You really have gone all motherly, haven't you?"

"I guess so," Sookie said, eyes full of glistening tears as she smiled at her friend.

"And I know I shouldn't be, but good grief, I am glad to see you Amelia Broadway."

Sookie hugged Amelia to her chest again and they sobbed together for a moment before pulling apart.

When she was able to form words once more, Amelia replied, "I missed you too!" Then she turned to Eric, "and even you, Viking."

Eric smiled, shifting Boone in his arms.

"Can I…" Amelia started to say. "I mean, is it possible for me to hold him?"

Sookie grinned broadly, wiping her palm against her face to remove the salty moisture, and Eric moved close to place the toddler in Amelia's lap.

"He'll be a lot heavier than when you last held him," Eric said as he lowered his son into her arms.

Amelia was near trembling when the precious little bundle hit her arms. He was wearing cowboy printed pajamas and he squirmed just slightly when she touched his face, moving hair out of the way so she could get a good look at him.

Another stream of tears fell from her eyes.

"He's beautiful. You know if I'd seen just a photo of him at this age, I'd have sworn he was Eric, except, you know as a child. But sitting here next to you Sookie, with your pale skin, he looks very much like you too. It's the eyes I think, and a bit of the mouth. The jaw line though…"

"Positively Viking, isn't it?" Sookie said with a laugh.

"Yes, exactly!" Amelia agreed enthusiastically. "He's so handsome _already_, can you imagine…"

They spun into a conversation that was very much woman-talk and so casual and lighthearted that Eric hated to break it up, but he had to; they still didn't know why Amelia was there and what it meant.

They hashed it out as best they could, until Boone woke up with a startled cry.

"I've got to feed him," Sookie said, holding her arms out expectantly. Amelia was still cuddling him close to her and as he woke, he looked confused by the new person in the house.

"You've figured it out then?" Amelia asked; she remembered the very beginning when Sookie had been scared witless thinking he'd die of malnutrition. One look at the boy was answer enough to her question, but she couldn't help asking.

Sookie nodded, accepting the squirming parcel of arms and legs that Amelia passed over. Her usually chatty son remained mute. Still partially _asleep_, she guessed, for lack of a better word. He didn't quite have a handle on the waking up or falling asleep quite yet.

"It's just your Auntie Amelia," she cooed gently.

"I can take him," Eric offered.

"And feed him the synthetic stuff you've been sneaking? No. He might need his strength. We don't know what we're up against. And this time we have a baby; it won't be the same."

So very many things were on the tip of his tongue: _I know that!_ _And what if you need your strength? I could offer him my blood; we've done it before. The child was hardly starving. _But they all seemed miserable out of context. They needed to be united against whatever was ahead and picking fights was not a good way to start, especially now that it could be 2 against 1.

He had a lot to be thankful to Miss Broadway for, but right then he felt anything but.

Eric walked through the house with purpose, checking their security and placing calls on his cell phone as he went.

_Had any of his contacts heard from Bill? Was Felipe still in his kingdom? Had there been any unusual vampire sightings in the area._

No on all fronts.

It was somewhat of a relief, though he wondered how long the relief would hold out.

.

When he was sure he'd done everything he could, he walked back past Boone's room, eavesdropping on the conversation between his wife and her friend.

Sookie whispered something scandalous to Amelia and Eric's ears pricked up.

"I didn't spend six years learning how to track vampires for nothing Northman," Sookie called out a moment later.

He'd been caught. He strolled into the room unabashed.

"I was merely giving you a chance to catch up without interference."

"You could do that from say, the den, rather than right outside the door?" Sookie offered and Amelia laughed.

"Point taken," he said simply, giving her a kiss on the cheek before heading down the hall to their little library.

He had been looking out for them so long that it was hard for him to sacrifice any control. And while he knew if anything relevant came up she would alert him straight away, he couldn't help but be what he was – cautious.

Picking up a black ballpoint pen, he rattled it in his fingers for a few moments before clicking the release and touching the tip to paper.

**(Pen up – Eric)**

In the beginning, with Sookie, our relationship was outwardly based on sex. Great sex mind you, but mostly sex. We related to each other easily on a physical level and it kept emotions at bay. Not to say that we didn't discuss things or that I didn't attempt to show my affection for more than her body, but it often went unrecognized by her. _Outwardly_ anyway.

Inside was different entirely. I'd seen a glimpse of it when I tried to take her away with me from the compound. When she'd said my name with such passion my undead heart beat and we shared blood for the first time, locked in a kiss.

Oh… she had emotions all right, she just kept them hidden away. I suppose before that night, I had not been very different myself. It was undoubtedly _safer_ to abstain from feeling. But a remarkable improvement on the quality of life to care, to yearn for more than fulfilling basic instincts. What was an eternity on earth if it was devoid of value, of meaning?

Being with Sookie taught me that.

Taking her blood and giving her mine was the first step toward figuring her out and it was probably the only reason I was so patient with her; I could feel her heart and her hesitation. And I began to understand both. I knew she would come to me fully when she was ready. And that was all I wanted.

Occasionally I grew concerned that I was being selfish because the more time I spent with her, the more I craved her. I thought she wanted me in the same capacities, but she was so young, so impressionable, I couldn't be sure my will wasn't being exerted above her own. And when I asked her, she raged. She called me highhanded and callous, sometimes referring to me as a tyrant. I hardly saw how that helped her cause. I'd been asking her if I was taking too many liberties… all I wanted to know was how she felt and to be sure I wasn't influencing her opinion.

And it's saying something of my state at the time that I cared enough about her feelings to ask. Though I wasn't sure I _could_ leave, even if she said she hated me… I wanted to try. To give her the opportunity if she desired it.

Luckily she did not. I'm honestly not sure why.

Was I her only option as a result of coincidence or had we gotten _that_ lucky? To find each other in the midst of chaos, both of us resigned to our fates as pawns in a larger game. She, an innocent Southern girl who deserved more and I, a Viking, someone who didn't truly belong in the present. Such peculiar odds and yet I constantly found myself believing in the impossible. We were meant to find happiness, and we were supposed to do it together.

For the first time, I was excited by something in my life. A prospect I hadn't considered. And when I made that decision, the decision to _have her_ in every sense of the word, it became increasingly more difficult to leave her at the house in Bon Temps, never really knowing if she would be there when I returned.

Our fate was still held firmly in the clutches of her government and the game of cat and mouse was growing old.

I negotiated with Bill. I would stock the lab-made blood in my bar, even drink it myself, and he would help me secure Sookie.

He was reluctant at first and I knew it was a result of his own attachments to Sookie.

"And you're confident there will be no explosion?" I inquired, peering over his shoulder at what looked to me like gibberish on the computer screen.

I was by no means behind on technology, but I did not have the time to invest to become a geek either. I knew about as much as would suit my purposes, and no more.

"Yes!" he replied, aggravated. The look on his face said it all – _I would never put her life in jeopardy. Never. _

I almost felt bad for him. _Almost_.

She was mine and I would not let anyone take that from me.

"And you what, extended the perimeter past Shreveport…" I spoke idly, ignoring his flare up.

"You could go 45 miles further in any direction," Bill said, explaining the leniency he'd written into the program "I would _not_ chance any farther."

He made it clear that he didn't trust me, that I still had an end to the bargain to hold up. If he couldn't have Sookie, he'd see her happy with someone else, but he would do his job as well. Whether that meant selling out his own kind or not. But then, I suppose, I was just as guilty of that for going along with him.

"You know your life is on the line here. If anything happens, it's forfeit," I said, bringing the conversation to an end, dishing out a threat of my own.

"I wouldn't want to live," he said solemnly, honestly.

I felt one more ping of sadness for him, then departed, anxious to feel just a taste of what the future could be like, revel in the freedom… know that someday, somehow we wouldn't have any restrictions at all.

.

It took some cajoling to warm her to the idea and to my dismay, she actually wanted to talk to Bill, get his permission of sorts. I allowed it (not that I had a choice) because of their connection, he had been one of the only constants in her life and he had made it abundantly clear earlier that evening that she was all he had to live for. I had to respect that, even if I hated it, and I did; I wouldn't get anywhere by being jealous.

And in the end, it helped me get my way. All good things…

We'd both been nervous as we stepped away from the house and got into the car.

And then when we'd made it a mile or so, I saw her breathe a sigh of relief. I saw something change in her eyes. She wanted to run away with me; I could feel it as strongly as if she'd said it out loud.

I knew we couldn't of course, so I hoped she didn't vocalize the thought, though a distinct thrill ran through me at the prospect; she was that much closer to being mine. Or, in concession, we were that much closer to being _together_. I found it hard to differentiate between the two, _still_ find it hard if you ask Sookie. But in my heart of hearts, the two thoughts are one in the same.

And though it might be considered old-fashioned of me to say it the first way, I _did_ want to possess her. Because that's exactly what she had done to me – possessed me. I was… what did Pam call it?

_Smitten. _

I can't argue with that, though I might prefer the word possessed or even infatuated, for obvious reasons.

It would have been hard for me to say no at the time, to tell her of what had been going on in the background to make it all possible. And I _did not_, absolutely did not, want to scare her off with talk of what the future could hold. It wasn't time. She wasn't ready.

Sookie was wearing almost the same outfit she had the first time we went to Fangtasia. A makeshift minidress out of what was probably a boy's t-shirt. It smelled entirely of her, so I was sure it hadn't belonged to anyone else, though she had the oddest fashion sense.

She's always looked beautiful in anything. (A little flattery couldn't hurt. After this morning, I figure I have some ground to make up. Either way, it's very true. And I am very disappointed that I did not get to see that shirt stretched as our son was inside you.)

I noticed that she stared at the glass I drank from that night. She was anything but stupid and she knew straight away; I saw realization strike in her eyes and her gaze scoured the room, matching up blank minds with the globby, red cocktail.

Luckily, she chose not to start a scene in public, though I was sure I'd be given hell for it later. I hadn't thought to have the waitress bring me any different; I'd gotten so used to ordering it. And while the taste was decidedly vile, it suited my nutritional needs just fine.

It was actually a welcome supplement as time spent with Sookie was not yet a regular occurrence. She had been put back _to work_ and I had my own businesses to see to. She hadn't asked me not to drink from anyone else, and though it never even came up, it felt oddly right to abstain. I never even questioned the lifestyle change, though Pam did… frequently.

Mostly to tease. She liked Sookie as soon as they met. Too much if you ask me, because she kept giving me the puppy dog eyes that night – _Please can we share master?_ they said.

No. Though it amused me that she approved of her so much. It gave me ammunition to fire back with.

_Find your own_, my expression said in return. As if there were another.

**(Pen down – Eric)**

"What are you writing sweetie?"

Sookie had walked into the library with Boone in her arms; she put him down and he ran to the small table that Eric had built. There were picture books at his level there and some toys. He quickly occupied himself, pulling out paper and crayons.

"Where is Amelia?"

"I tucked her into bed. She's exhausted Eric; I saw her starting to slip as soon as all the excitement of seeing each other died down. She was running on that alone. I made her eat something first, then I made up the couch for her. I offered her our bed, but she said she was ok there."

The couch might as well have been a bed anyway, it was big enough that Eric and Sookie could lie down on it and watch movies with Boone tucked in front of them. They had turned the only spare bedroom they had into the library and guests had never been much of an issue before.

He nodded, and then answered her original question, "just writing about Pam's crush on you love."

Sookie blushed.

"Not that again! Poor Pam, you give her such a hard time."

"Do you think she doesn't deserve it?" he questioned with an eyebrow raised, beckoning for her to come sit with him.

Once she was situated comfortably in his lap, he continued, "I think if you play with fire, you are going to be burned."

He smirked.

"You're so cruel Eric," she declared playfully before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Pulling back, she asked, "And then, why haven't I been burned?"

"I wouldn't consider you entirely flame retardant, my dear; you're often red enough to pass for a strawberry, surely the sign of someone who's gotten in over their head."

Scanning the room to make sure his son was thoroughly involved in his project, he gave her bum a little squeeze and watched her pinken.

"A very ripe fruit indeed," he affirmed with a chuckle.

Before she could admonish him for it, he called out to Boone.

"And what are you working on, my son?"

"Just emm… one small sec, okie?" the boy replied, sticking his little tongue out as he concentrated on the final details.

As soon as he was finished, he rushed over, floating up to sit in his parent's mutual lap. That move had taken him a lot of practice over the last few weeks and Eric grinned proudly. He still wasn't flying, but all signs pointed toward that inevitability.

"This is Auntie Amelia," he started as he became engrossed in telling his parents the story that inspired the drawing.

Sookie made note of what each little blur was in case it came up again later. She often thought she should be writing that down too, and sometimes she did add notes to the back of his illustrations, but starting a book for Boone would be an idea. Maybe after she'd finished with her current one, she thought with only a small bit of guilt, not nearly as much as she'd anticipated.

"So, let me get this right," Eric said, not truly seeking clarification, but likely to get a rise from Sookie. "Amelia is Pocahontas. Yes I see; you've drawn a nice headdress here, and you're going to single handedly save her from the evil Longshadow, who you'd like me to play. And your mother is a shaman who will heal you of all battle wounds."

And that was summing it up. Boone's speech had taken much longer, explaining intricacies as he went. He had quite a large vocabulary for someone not yet two, but he spent all his time with adults and while Sookie did baby him on occasion, Eric spoke with him like they were colleagues of sorts, or more accurately partners in crime, which they were. It amused Sookie to no end and made moments of complete tenderness between them that much more special.

Boone nodded his head vigorously. He would be very much entertained with a re-enactment of his story. Sookie hoped Amelia would be game to play; she was pretty sure she would be, though she bet her family would take a while for anyone to get used to. It was more the time differences she was worried about too, though her sheer tiredness might allow her to sleep for most of the day as well, essentially resetting herself.

And then Sookie really had no idea how long she _could_ stay… It didn't seem like Bill had sent her as a warning or anything, but more for them to secure her. And that probably meant finding somewhere safe for her to be. She had to stop her thoughts dead in their tracks. They had just been reunited; she wouldn't let it happen that quickly. It was breaking her heart all over again to think about being separated again.

"Well, it sounds like an excellent idea to me," Eric said with certainty. "Shall we go outside and practice our new roles? Leave mom here to come up with the costumes?"

He could tell Sookie was lost in contemplation, traveling back to one of her dark places and he wanted to give her some space.

No, more than that he wanted to comfort her, but he knew because of the situation, he couldn't. He gave her a hug and so did Boone and that was the most they could do just then.

Eric held Boone tight while he checked the perimeter. Once he was sure it was safe, he let the boy run around, screeching to his heart's content. They were far enough away from anyone that their sounds of laughter wouldn't raise suspicion. He was tempted to remind him that they had a guest sleeping in the house, but from the way Sookie spoke, he was sure it would take a lot more than the noise they were making to wake her up.

He felt his first bit of sorrow for Amelia. She had her own life to live and she'd constantly given up things to help them, relocating several times herself. Having her there was the least they could do, though he wondered what Bill was getting at. And the thought that he had been squelching all day rose up as he watched Boone masterfully parry, using a twig to defend himself from a branch swinging in the breeze.

_If Amelia was in danger… what about Pam? _

And inside the house, Sookie was lost to her memories, caught up in the whirlwinds of her past.

In her mind she was desperate – a weeping, eight-month-pregnant mess. And Amelia was all she had. She'd been hiding with her for five months and hadn't so much as seen Eric for seven. They were close to figuring out where he was, how to get to him, but she was terrified the information was wrong, that she would lose someone else in the effort.

Sookie couldn't bear the pain of losing someone else she cared about. Everyone was taking so many risks and she couldn't. She wanted to… desperately.

'_The baby, the baby'_ everyone kept saying. What good was it if she didn't have Eric? What kind of mother would she be? She couldn't do it alone. She just couldn't.

_It's not real. Eric and I are safe. We live in Switzerland. Our baby is okay. Amelia is alive. Pam, Bill, everyone… still alive._

She tried to connect back to reality, but she was losing more and more of herself to painful reminders.

_Write, _she reminded herself. _Just write._

Gripping a pen in her hand, she flipped through the pages of her journal mindlessly.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

Amelia.

We were unlikely friends (mostly because I disliked everything about her when we met) but somehow it happened. And I'm the better for it. My family is better for it.

I can't say for certain that we wouldn't have made it without her, because I'd have fought forever to get Eric back… but honestly, I don't know. Even the most simple things seemed impossible at the time.

Eric was being held and I didn't know where they'd moved him. It became increasingly more difficult to follow the government's movements when I left, but I had no choice. Amelia and Pam had taken me away from the institute; they said it was what Eric would have wanted.

_What about me?? _It was the only thought I had at the time and I'm not proud of it.

So, for as much as I would love to sit here and say I deserve the mother of the year award for securing our baby's safety, it's not the case. I didn't crave motherhood as I know some women do; I believed I had nothing to pass on to the next generation… The only thing I needed was to survive and I _wanted_ Eric.

I only fell in love with Boone when we met. And not only because he looked like Eric; there was something more than that. It just clicked that day and everything else fell away. I let Gran back into my heart, let her wisdom fill my mind and I listened to my friends, actually listened.

Not that Pam or Amelia knew much about babies, but it was a small comfort to be surrounded by them during that time. I wished that Eric and I could have stayed with them.

Or taken them with us. Though I understood why we couldn't. The more people you had traveling with you, the easier it would be to be found; a 6'4" vampire and a baby were conspicuous enough without adding another vampire and a witch to the equation.

**(Pen down – Sookie)**

"Sook?" came a small voice from behind her.

She spun around in the chair and smiled at Amelia.

"Hey 'melia. Did I wake you up?"

"Nah. I guess I had a power nap; I'm feeling better."

She was lying; her eyelids were droopy and the dark circles under her eyes gave her away. Amelia was _just barely _awake.

Sookie took Amelia's hand and led her to the overstuffed chairs by the window, sliding the heavy security shutters up before sitting down herself.

Amelia sighed and her eyes involuntarily shut as she sunk into the soft armchair.

"You want to tell me why you're fighting against sleep?" Sookie asked, deciding to be direct; it had always worked the best between them.

"What were you writing?" Amelia asked, deflecting the question.

"Oh, a little of everything. I think I may have mentioned in my last letter that Eric suggested I write a book?"

Amelia nodded lazily.

"But just then, well, funnily enough, I was writing about you."

Amelia's lips curled up at the edges like she was trying to smile, but even the smallest movements were an effort.

"About how much you hated me or after that?"

She was smiling fully now.

"I don't know why you bothered with me," Sookie admitted, laughing. "But no, the time after that. When Eric, Mason, and I were leaving the country."

Amelia nodded. She remembered it like it was yesterday - the day she lost her best friend because it was the only way to protect her.

"You wanna go lie down Meli? I'll bring my journal and you can help jog my memory."

"Yeah, okay Sook," Amelia replied with a yawn, accepting the hand Sookie held out to her.

"Hold on a sec love. I'm just going to lock up this window and let Eric know."

Sookie made quick work of the shutters and then whisked Amelia into the kitchen, leaving her at the table for a second while she rushed outside to find her boys.

.

_______

**Reviews, as always, are appreciated and adored **

see you next Monday! *winks*


	6. Blood

"_You wanna go lie down Meli? I'll bring my journal and you can help jog my memory."_

"_Yeah, okay Sook," Amelia replied with a yawn, accepting the hand Sookie held out to her._

"_Hold on a sec love. I'm just going to lock up this window and let Eric know."_

_Sookie made quick work of the shutters and then whisked Amelia into the kitchen, leaving her at the table for a second while she rushed outside to find her boys._

_._

Sookie walked briskly around the corner and down the slope to a wooded area noise was coming from. Wherever there was a racket, she could find Eric and Mason.

That day it was only the littlest vampire disturbing the peace, hacking away at shrubs and undergrowth with a broken twig. Sookie took in the scene, not knowing whom to go to first. Making a quick assessment, she picked Eric. While she didn't approve of Boone's behavior, it wasn't atypical and she was 99% confident he wasn't hurting anything (or himself) at the moment. Eric, on the other hand, in his deadly silence, was much more capable.

And she knew what he was thinking. She had the same thoughts rattling around in her brain since Amelia arrived.

She approached him cautiously, touching his crossed arms with one hand before squeezing her way alongside him, as close as she could possibly get.

Sookie spoke softly, "I don't like thinking that she's hurt either… and I don't know when Bill will contact me again."

Having the advantage of height, Eric continued to look straight ahead, avoiding her eyes and watching his son as he spoke, "Worthless Compton."

"Eric, don't say that. We wouldn't have what we do without him; our whole life is thanks to him. He helped me get away… Hell, Eric, he helped you escape."

She only hated saying it because she knew he hated hearing it. However, it didn't make it any less true and it was a fact Eric needed to be reminded of.

"I did not ask him for that. I don't owe him a thing."

Sookie wanted to jump up and down, pull at his hair, maybe claw at his eyes. He was so dense sometimes!! She knew he didn't mean what he implied – that he'd have rather them all enslaved or killed than freed by Bill's hands – but it still drove her crazy that he was so hardheaded.

The only thing refraining her from physical violence was that she knew she was guilty of it herself at times. It was one of their shared personality traits, though she liked to think her defensive stance wasn't as easily triggered as it used to be.

"Well, fine. Think like that if you want. But you're only getting away with it because I know you are worried about Pam. Now I'm going to rest with Amelia, I trust you'll look after Boone or should I take him with me?"

It was a low dig but she felt he needed to be woken up and short of a slap in the face or a bucket of ice water (which consequently did NOT have the same effect on vampires), it was her only recourse.

Eric's eyes softened.

"I'll assist him with his maneuvers. He doesn't seem to be doing much of anything there…"

"Fine."

And she began to stomp away, slower than she came to allow him to…

"Sookie?"

"Yes?"

She spun around, hair whipping in her face.

"I love you."

"I know that, you big idiot. You'd save yourself a lot of time if you remembered that sooner though."

He smiled and her heart skipped.

"And I love you too. Now please go and take that branch… stick, whatever you want to call it away from him, okay?"

"Sookie, he might need to…"

"No. I don't care what happens. He will not be fighting. He's not even two yet, Eric. Vampire or not, no. Just no."

"I love you."

"Better. Now… if you want to get the fencing equipment from the shed and play for sport, I would be okay with that. Hmm?"

She stepped closer to him once more, sharing her stern 'you will do what I say and like it' face with him.

He chuckled. The face rarely had the effect she intended - fear, he guessed - but after laughing he would usually do what she asked, so in a way it did.

"You know, it is funny what Amelia said earlier. I had not realized until now exactly how _motherly_ you have become."

Sookie moved closer to him still, holding his arms for support as she stretched up on tippy toes to whisper, "Eric, I am multifaceted."

Then she pulled back and gave him a wink, rubbing one of her hands against him suggestively. Eric kept his eyes on their son, who was climbing up on a large tree stump, but felt himself stir to life as she touched him. He dared not look at the delight on her face as he hardened under the warm palm she pressed between them. If he did, he'd have to run and grab Boone and take them both inside, one in the playpen, one in the bed… and he knew that it was neither the time nor the place…

Knowing that she was pushing him to the limit, she removed her hand and stepped back, turning around to face their baby as he stood victoriously atop the old tree stump.

"Go play. I will see you later. If I've fallen asleep, please wake me for dinner. I love you."

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss, then ran over to Boone and shared a hug and kiss before returning to the kitchen to find Amelia with her head in her hands.

"Is there anything you wanted to tell me that you didn't want to say when Eric was in earshot? I assure you, he's preoccupied now. Not that I won't tell him… if it's a serious threat, Amelia, I have to. But if its something about you… it can stay between you and I. Were things okay back home?"

"I guess, relatively. I still see Octavia now and then, but I'm not part of any group or anything. I suppose it just wasn't in the cards for me. I just miss you, Sook."

"I'm right here."

"I know, but for how long this time? And will I ever see you again? I know I can't stay. Bill told me Eric would find somewhere safe to put me. He sent me here because he wanted you to see for yourself that I was okay and while he could have made time to hide me, he knew you two would take care of me."

"That was thoughtful of him," Sookie replied, skirting around the first few questions; she didn't have answers to them yet.

"He also said if anything happened to him to tell you he loved you. Nothing has that I know of and I suppose you knew that already… but it felt important to say. And I guess I didn't want to say that in front of Eric before. I know he's not a big fan of Bill's."

Sookie snorted.

"You could say that again."

"Yeah," Amelia agreed lamely, not sure of what else to say – partly because she had so _much_ to say and also because she was so dead tired she was convinced her brain wasn't functioning right.

"Let's go lay down, okay?"

"Okay, Sook. I just wish I could stay up and play with Mason and talk with you. Gosh there is so much I want to tell you, not related to anything bad, just things. I've written you so many letters and known I couldn't send them. I barely even keep in touch with Pam. We were so worried people would connect the dots, and look, they did anyway."

"It's not your fault," Sookie said as they hobbled toward the bedroom. Normally she had more strength but it had been some time since she'd taken blood from Eric. Being the only _donor, _for lack of a better word, in a 10km radius meant that she had to stay human… at least for the time being.

"What do you think they want?"

"I don't know. It couldn't be me. They still have Barry at the institute don't they?"

Amelia nodded.

"And they loan him out to the vampires?"

She nodded again. "As far as I know."

"Then I honestly have no clue. Losing Eric would have hurt them, I'm sure, but there are older vampires in Felipe's retinue and Pam manages the area just fine."

The truth remained unspoken between them, though they both had inklings. Whoever was after them wanted the little boy, the _special_ vampire hybrid - the only one that had been born throughout their experimentation. Though the exact purpose remained unknown to Sookie and Amelia.

_Military maybe if it was the government after them? And if it were vampires… maybe they thought him a unique prize?_ Sookie mused silently.

She had no idea. He was just her baby, she didn't want to think of twisted ways to use a toddler, though she could have come up with more if she thought hard enough. She'd seen enough kids younger than her at the institute. She and Bill had taken quite a few away while Eric had been in custody, when she desperately needed something to keep her mind busy.

As they both chewed over the possibilities in their minds, Sookie folded down the blankets and tucked Amelia in.

"So what do you want to write about?"

"Oh, anything. I've got no real order here. I just write as it comes to me. Eric keeps talking about publishers and editors, but I don't know how serious he is… if he thinks he is tricking me into a bit of self-help just by writing or if he honestly thinks people might want to read this. I don't know that I'm ready for that. I don't think the world is ready for it either. It wasn't that long ago vampires came out and there aren't many creatures I plan to skip out on as I write. It wouldn't be the same story without them."

"So you've written about our time at the institute?"

"A little. Not much really, just a few notes before I started writing seriously. I wanted a list to remind myself of stories I could embellish later."

"What made your list?"

"Oh… hmm… let's see," Sookie said while skimming the list scrawled on the cover page.

"I have Gancanagh listed here, does that ring any bells with you?"

If Amelia had been bordering on sleepy before, that jolted her straight out of it.

"Finn?" Her eyes lit up.

"Still got that dopey look in your eyes over him I see," Sookie teased.

"Sookie, how could you not?"

"I saw through the façade I suppose."

"You know what that means, don't you?"

"What?"

"You aren't human."

"Not that again, Amelia. If I'm not than neither are you."

"I am, I just study witchcraft. What was it he called you?"

"If I remember correctly, it was in Gaelic: my princess."

"Weird, right?"

"We've seen weirder."

"But it was almost like he knew you…"

"If I had a nickel for each time I heard that line at Fangtasia. That's how men pick up girls Amelia. Surely you know that not every guy you've bumped into _knows _you from somewhere or _met you_ in a different life?"

Sookie rolled her eyes; as someone who had an all access pass to the inner workings of men's minds, she knew _every_ line and their intended purpose.

"I guess. But he looked serious."

"What he looked like was _hot,_ Amelia. Between that and the fairy heroin dripping off his skin he had you hook, line, and sinker."

"You should have just left me. I am pretty sure I'd have died happy."

"Amelia!" Sookie exclaimed incredulously, her mind caught between amusement and worry.

"Maybe I could go back to Ireland," Amelia said wistfully.

"Are you serious? I thought he released you."

"For a kiss from you, I remember. I'm just teasing… kind of anyway. I still remember what he looked like Sookie. Façade, façade, I know. The man was still drop dead gorgeous."

"More focus on the dead and less on the gorgeous here Amelia."

"Not sure where I could go now that wouldn't end in death. At least I'd have some fun with him first."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble but you've met my husband, right?"

"So he's dead?"

"He touched me," she said, which to anyone who knew Eric indicated 'I'm almost positive.' "We did travel through Ireland on our way here." Case closed.

"Pity. How did Eric even find out?"

"Don't you remember? When we got back, he said I smelled of fairy filth then made love to me until the sun came up. I don't think I've ever had that many orgasms in one night. … Maybe we should go see if this character is still alive."

They both broke into fits of laughter.

"Alright, alright, enough teasing," Amelia said as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Anything else on your list _I didn't fall prey to _that we could write about?"

Sookie skimmed the list again. There weren't many. Poor Amelia always ended up as bait or had a spell go extraordinarily wrong.

"Lots of run of the mill encounters with shifters and weres… They haven't come out yet have they?"

"No, not yet. I was dating a Were for a while, Tray Dawson. He said it was in the works, but he didn't know when."

"Ooh, you had a boyfriend? Was it serious?"

Girltalk! Sookie could hardly believe her luck. It had been so long. She never pegged herself as someone to indulge in talk so frivolous, but after living with Amelia when she was pregnant, she found she enjoyed it. Talking about clothes or people Amelia dated had always been a welcome distraction from what was going on in their lives at any given time. And then was no different.

"Sook, come on. It wasn't a big deal. A couple of months, nothing that serious. I've had lots of boyfriends."

"And girlfriends," Sookie chimed in, poking her friend in the ribs.

"Yep, those too. … Don't you think Eric should be worried leaving us alone in the house in bed?"

Amelia smiled and wiggled her eyebrows.

Sookie laughed, "Oh god, is that why you tried so hard to befriend me at the institute?"

"Maybe," Amelia replied with a sly smile, but her mind shouted, "I couldn't stand that you didn't like me, it became a challenge."

Sookie had forgotten how hard it was to tune Amelia out, and though she was doing her best to stay out of her thoughts, she was a bit out of practice.

"Sorry Meli, I _heard_ you just then. I didn't mean to. I don't run into many humans up here."

"Oh sorry, I have that silly charm to reduce my noise too. Remember, I learned it after they brought Barry in? I must just be so tired, I'm losing my grip."

"Yeah, I do. It's okay Amelia. Why don't we write about the Yama-uba from that trip we took to Japan?"

"Never did bring that one back, did we?" Amelia said irritably.

"Nope. And I think it's for the best. I have no idea what they wanted with her, but I can't imagine it was for the betterment of society."

"And all that trouble with the Kyoto vampires, remember?"

"I do. Bill caused quite a stir."

"All the ladies wanted him," Amelia giggled.

"I think it is the accent, no?" Sookie suggested, remembering her own fleeting, youthful crush on the brooding, southern vampire.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

A brief forward to put this in context. To remind myself or in case I am unable to finish this and this is all that is left behind. Amelia thinks I'm being morbid, but I think better safe than sorry.

I had settled into a reasonably comfortable, though essentially jail-like, existence living in Bon Temps. Eric spent any free time he had with me. It wasn't much, but it worked. And he preferred I didn't leave the house when he or Bill weren't around (e.g. daylight hours). And I followed that… mostly. I didn't want to fight, but I didn't want to be a caged bird either. Not that he made me feel like a plaything, but I refused to spend the rest of my life catering to the system; they'd played me like a fiddle long enough.

Bill came and went, stopping in occasionally, bringing with him action packed stories of what he had been up to. I hated myself for it, but I missed it. I'd spent years training and going on missions and, all the sudden, life felt very still.

So when Bill came to tell me we were heading out on a mission with Amelia to Japan, I was legitimately excited. It was the furthest I'd ever traveled and I'd had enough time away from the agency to be naïve about our exploits. Bill and I had been to Europe a few times on small missions (listening in on conversations – spoken {Bill's specialty} and unspoken {mine}, carrying documents back and forth, etc.) but mostly stayed within the US dealing with vampires and small outbreaks of unruly magical creatures. Offing them or bringing them back to the institute. They never had issue with violence and my age. It was only the sex issue that held me back from what I was really being trained for - seducing vampires. And the timing was probably more Bill's doing than any notions of morality held by the higher ups. And then my relationship with Eric derailed the whole thing.

But then… I wasn't a child anymore. And not knowing what would be coming our way on that trip was nearly more excitement than I could handle.

Though I wasn't too thrilled about Amelia tagging along. We'd made our peace at the institute before I left, but I wasn't a fan of hers. She was there by choice. An outrageous luxury and I had no idea why she stayed. I kind of knew her back story - rebellious teenager, ran away from home a lot, rich daddy issues… but I still didn't get why anyone would willingly live there.

Now I know (because we've talked about it before and because she is practically taking the pen out of my hands right now), she wanted to learn from the elder witches that were employed by the government.

They were all fed misinformation. Some might have believed it… and for some the pay was high enough that they didn't question it. Either way, they had a group of respected witches that was unparalleled and Amelia was lucky to be learning from them.

Now, it would be wrong to call this trip a bonding experience… but I did come to appreciate slightly what she brought to the table. Lots of information… and while her spells probably only had a 50/50 average of working on a good day; some of them came in handy.

So there we were, the three of us, hiking up a mountain at night, Amelia chattering away to Bill who nodded every few minutes so as to appear to be listening and me hacking at the brush with more vigor than necessary, very similar to what my own son is doing outside just now.

"And I am pretty sure the crystals will allow us to trap her, if we can find the right flower that is. Though I wish we could have time to talk with her beforehand. The things she could tell us! Though she may try and eat us. Pity we didn't think to bring a sacrifice."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to the witch to think we needed a sacrifice. She made me want to become an animal rights activist just to piss her off.

"Pretty sure?" Bill questioned.

I swung my machete into a sapling and watched as it split in two. I wondered what Eric was doing. With the time difference the answer was probably sleeping, but I wondered what he thought of me being gone. We'd talked about it, but he didn't say much. I guess he just had to accept that it was my job, just as I had to live with the fact he worked at a bar and had to entertain women and men vying for his attention.

I uprooted a fern with the toe of my boot and drew my emotions back to the present. I needed to be alert and aware and it was clear I already wasn't as Bill was staring at me with disappointment in his eyes.

"What?" I asked, with more attitude than I intended.

"Did you hear what Amelia said about the crystals?"

"That they may or may not work. Yeah I heard what Doogie How-witch had to say."

I sliced the head off a tall orange flower to the left of Bill to illustrate my next point. I was ready to just kill the thing and be done with it.

Bill did something very un-Bill-like and winked at me, flashing a brilliant white smile as he did so. I remained outwardly unmoved, though I began to question his reason for doing so. Nothing Bill did was without reason.

He turned back around as we were approaching a small ledge that Amelia was already struggling to climb up. Bill excused himself, ran ahead, jumped up and held his hand out for her, which she accepted with a huff and then continued walking on ahead.

He waited for me and helped me up as well. When I was settled on the ledge, with Amelia out of earshot, he said "Actually, I meant the bit where she said you were to place the four stones between the crystals around the cave. If you could offset one, a little further to the left than the drawing Amelia prepared."

"But that would throw the whole thi…"

"Precisely."

He was smiling again. It was almost unnerving.

"Bill, what are you planning?"

"Nothing more than you can handle. You know what the flower looks like. When things get out of control, do what you do best."

"I will," I said simply as we caught up with Amelia.

**(Pen- down Sookie, Interruption)**

"What?? That's when it started? You know to this day I thought something was wrong with that spell! Sookie! You could have told me."

"For a long time, even after we became friends Amelia, I didn't know where your allegiances lay. I hope you'll forgive me."

"I do. And I guess you're right; I might not have deserved your trust at the time, but I wish things had been different."

"They're different now. That counts for something."

"You're right. Okay, let's continue. I'm dying to hear what else you were keeping from me, how many of my other spells went awry because of you and Bill."

"Honestly Amelia, not _that_ many," Sookie teased.

Amelia punched Sookie in the arm in jest.

"Write Stackhouse, before I slug you for real."

**(Pen – up Sookie)**

Amelia was standing just a few yards short of the cave entrance.

"Is this the rig…"

"Yes," Amelia cut me off, her voice barely above a whisper. "Place the stones. Bill has the crystals. I'm going to go in now and…"

A ghostly pale figure floated out of the cave, dragging yards worth of grimy fabric soiled with blood and dirt behind her. Its long, dark hair whipped around its face as if it had mind of its own. In flashes of moonlight it was hard to tell the entity was even female, the craggy face bore the marks of age, but little else. There were no telltale signs of femininity, especially not in her shapeless attire.

Amelia stood, glued to her spot as the Yama-uba approached. She was making crazy hand gestures behind her back; I suppose she thought she was saying – place the rocks Stackhouse and do it NOW.

So I did, slowly and cautiously as we'd talked about so as to not detract the Yama-uba's attention from Amelia. As I slid the fourth rock in place, I glanced over at Bill. I had no doubt that if he'd asked me to mess with the rock formation; he'd also taken his own precautions to see the creature was not trapped. After all, he had possession of the crystals; surely they were more vital to the configuration than the voids I carried. Still, I did as he instructed and moved the rock a few inches to the left. Not noticeably out of line with the rest, not to the naked eye anyway, but I knew.

I wondered if Amelia would. If I should move the rock back after I'd taken out the flower.

I watched Amelia as she conversed with the creature, it's wicked smile filling its face, dirty teeth reflecting the light, tattered gown flowing in the breeze, hair almost on end in every direction.

Then my eyes met with Bill's. He fixed his gaze on me then drew it down to the ground to settle on a small flower. I could barely make out the shape in the darkness though I had been looking for it. I began to inch my way closer to it as I heard Amelia start her incantation.

Then moments later, "Shit! Shit, Fuck!"

The hair of the Yama-uba began to wrap around Amelia's neck and she screamed out for Bill. Convinced that the hag was else wise entertained for the time being, I abandoned my slow movements and quickened my pace, making up the small distance to the flower.

Bill had moved to Amelia's aid when he noticed my movement. And if for no other reason I was happy for that because it quieted down Amelia's screaming (internally and externally). I'm sure he knew there was little he could do once she was in its grips, but it'd have tipped her off if he did anything less. That was when I figured out she was most definitely not in on the plan.

As soon as my blade connected with the delicate flower head, severing it from the slim, blood red stalk, I heard a loud screech and the ground shook, nearly knocking me to the floor.

I knelt behind a rock, bracing myself as light pulsed from the crystals.

_Shit, we'd caught her anyway_, I thought as they flickered and spun in half circles on the ground. _Sorry Bill._

Then all movement stopped and a blinding light filled the forest.

For what felt like an eternity, but was probably less than a minute or two, there was darkness, utter darkness. I had no idea what happened, no clue, especially since we had tampered with the plan. For all I knew both Amelia and Bill were goners and I was a sitting duck, blind and vulnerable.

Then I heard Amelia crying; she was unmistakable. Surely she had escaped if she was crying, but I could not make out her thoughts. Everything around me was a void. The only sense I had was a sense of unease as Amelia's sobbing tore through the silence.

After that, I'm not sure what happen; something enveloped me and I fell under.

When I woke up, Bill's jacket was wrapped around my chest. I shrugged it off as I moved to sit and immediately began to shiver. I pulled it back on, sliding my arms through the sleeves. Everything was dark… I still couldn't see, though it wasn't the same. I felt my eyes adjusting in the darkness, they were working… it was just too dark to make anything out.

_Should I or should I not make a noise? _I wondered. Well, that depended on if I did or did not want to be detected. And the answer to that question was yes if it's Bill or even Amelia but no if it's anything else, short of Eric and I knew he wasn't there.

It was either take my chances or rot where I sat, so I called out, "Bill!"

I felt something stir next to me. I cautiously reached out with my hands and was met with cool flesh.

"Sweetheart," he mumbled, almost inaudibly. My hands were on his face and I felt the faint movement as his lips parted.

"Is… is Amelia safe?"

"Daylight," he squeezed out before falling mute once more.

I leaned over him and felt around for Amelia. Someone was there, someone warm snuggled against his side. I could only hope it was Amelia and not the she-demon we'd encountered earlier. The only thought that eased my nerves was that she didn't seem like the cuddling type, whereas that was right up Amelia's alley.

I had two choices – sneak outside and confirm that it was daylight… maybe wake up Amelia (or what I thought was Amelia) and take her with me.

_And then what? Scout around? We were on a relatively abandoned mountainside during a season not well known for hikers._

Or stay put.

_Bill wouldn't leave me, why should I leave him?_

I decided to stay in the cave, ignoring thoughts of its previous occupant.

_If we made it through this, I'd have to come up with some bracelet or something for Amelia so I could tell it was her even in darkness. So much of our time is spent in the dark. I can't believe we didn't think of it already._

**(Pen down – Sookie)**

"Aww, Sook. You were scared! I'm so sorry. That's why I have this then, isn't it?"

She twirled a bracelet around on her wrist with her fingers.

"I wouldn't say scared. But worried, I didn't know if you made it. I wasn't a fan of yours, but I hardly wished you dead."

"How kind!"

"Just being honest."

"I know," she yawned, "does Eric have a bracelet like this?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Beside the fact that I couldn't get him to wear one if I tried? I just always know it's him."

"Not many tall guys with long hair built like Eric, are there?"

"It's more than that."

"The blood bond?"

"Maybe."

"Does Bill have a bracelet?"

"No."

"You just know?"

"Yes," Sookie whispered truthfully.

"Does Eric know?"

"No."

.

Outside, Eric and Boone tromped through the woods. Halfway through the night, Boone expressed an interest in returning to the house to get some toys and it reminded Eric of how young he really was. It was all too easy to forget. He was small, but frequently defied his own age with his thoughts and actions.

He wasn't much of a complainer for a start. Eric figured they'd gotten away from a lot considering he never had any colds, baby rashes, or colic. But he was still a child; he only liked battle scenes with his father because he thought they were playing. The harsh realities of their life might be too much for the little one.

What was he doing with a child?

Loving it, he knew that much. But would it be to the baby's detriment? Was he a fool to think he could be a vampire _and_ have a family? But what else could he do?

He had no position in Switzerland, held no great value to those around him. What would spare him and his family? Sheer force and willpower could only take you so far, and he wanted to spare them from a life of running, hiding.

Who did he have to kill to ensure that?

Too many. That was the answer. And he'd already made the decision not to try, to spend his time with his family instead. It hadn't been an easy decision, as a vampire his natural instinct was not to sit on his hands when there were things that could be done. But as a father, he knew he had to. Some things were beyond his reach.

_I will need a new phone_, he thought as his fingers ran over the number keys in his pocket.

After the number of calls he made inquiring about Amelia, it was certain.

_Perhaps I can take a trip tomorrow and source one, meet up with contacts, find somewhere for Amelia to go._

It would upset Sookie, he knew that. But Amelia couldn't stay. He knew Bill well enough to know that wasn't why he sent her.

And if he was going to get rid of the phone anyway…

If it was nearly 3am in Switzerland, it was around 8 in Louisiana.

"Son, want to fly?"

Boone was pulling up weeds as they walked and he turned to face Eric, his hands and pockets were covered in muddy earth.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly, dropping the bundle of plants he had clasped in his left hand.

Eric picked up Boone and flew an hour or so south of their home, instructing their son to be as quiet as possible when they landed.

The phone rang several times before anyone picked up.

"Fangtasia, the bar with bite…"

"May I speak with whoever is in charge there please?" Eric said, disguising his voice and adding the please to throw things off.

He held Boone against his chest and waited.

"That'd be Miss Pam sir, hold on a minute. I'll see if I can grab her. Can I ask what this is regarding?"

"Artificial vampire food," Eric thought, remembering one of the last things Pam had mentioned in their letters.

"Ohh, right. Here she is, I found her."

"This is Pam."

"Pamela," he said with a sigh.

"Hold on."

He could hear her moving through the empty bar, presumably toward his office, no _her_ office now.

He heard the door shut behind her and the squeak of his old chair as she sat down.

"Eric?" she said tentatively.

"Yes."

"Is the line secure?"

"On my end."

"It is here as well. Bill set up all the security here. It was a pain in the ass to explain to Victor, he keeps pushing his nose in our finances… but for the most part Felipe stays in Nevada. It hasn't been too difficult to fly under the radar."

"I am most glad to hear that," Eric replied.

The truth of it was he was glad to hear _her_.

"And how is my little brother?"

"He is excellent Pam, though I'm sure soon he will be the one referring to you as little. I'll let you have a word with him in a minute. I won't keep you long. I just wanted to know if Felipe had been by or perhaps some of Sookie's associates from the CIA."

"I haven't seen anyone out of the ordinary here. The vampires in the area are accounted for, visitors are checked in. The usual crowd comes in and out. We've had a few issues with religious zealots, but they are always sorted very quickly," she said with confidence.

He'd left everything in good hands.

"And as for the CIA, I couldn't be sure, but I've got a good recollection of the people in the files. And other than Bill, I haven't seen anyone from Sookie's past. Why do you ask?"

"Bill sent Amelia here. Her house was ransacked. They stole photos and information about the baby."

He was whispering into the phone as he spoke. He was not sure how much would sink in with Boone, and he had to tell Pam the truth.

Boone fidgeted in his arms and he let him slide to the ground, keeping an eye on him at all times. He pulled a pen and a small piece of paper from his jacket and handed it to him.

"What does this mean?"

"That you need to be cautious Pam. You are one of our last links in the States; someone may come after you. Double check your security, talk to Bill if you can find him, and be prepared to leave on a moments notice."

"Of course. Do you have instructions for the others?"

The other vampires he left behind…

"Those that are loyal, let them know of the threat, but be evasive about its origin. The more watchful eyes we have, the better. I feel fucking useless over here, and I will not be unprepared when they attack."

"I understand. I will do everything I can."

"Enough of this talk, would you like to speak with Boone?"

"Yes," she tried not to sound too eager.

"Son, it's your sister, Pam," Eric teased. He could hear Pam laughing as he lowered the phone.

Boone held his hands up for the phone and began babbling as soon as he had it tucked against his cheek. He let them talk for five minutes or so, then scooped up the boy with the phone.

"Can I have a word with her now?"

He looked unhappy to have his conversation come to an end, but let his dad take the phone back.

"Now go wipe your eyes and return to the club as if you were talking to a supplier. Tissues are in the bottom drawer."

"I know where they are Eric, it's my office you know!" she said defensively, though he heard the drawer opening as she spoke.

He noticed it was the first time she'd claimed ownership of anything that was previously his and he had mixed feelings running through him – he was proud that she'd risen to the challenge but also downhearted because it truly would never be his again.

"I know," he said softly. "Take care."

"I always do. Pass on my love to Sookie."

"I will, my child."

He hung up the phone, and then smashed it against a rock. He and Boone buried all the little pieces, making sure every part was utterly unrecognizable and nonfunctioning.

"Time to fly home. When we get back, it will be time for supper."

Boone took this to mean bedtime and he frowned. For Eric it held more allure and they were home in less time than it'd taken them to get out there.

The little Viking was groggy when they got back; they were in fact a little later for dinner than usual and Eric hoped Sookie would not be upset with them.

The house was quiet when they went inside and he thought Sookie and Amelia must have fallen asleep.

Boone trailed behind him as he walked to the bedroom. He heard the little click of his son's fangs as they walked and he hoped that if he hopped up on the bed, he went to Sookie and not after Amelia.

Not that he'd ever seen the little guy be savage, but if he was hungry and Eric bet he was, it would give Amelia a big shock.

He chuckled to himself imagining the witch's face if it were to happen, then turned around and picked up Boone just in case. While it would be amusing, he didn't know what spells (or what Amelia tried to pass as spells) would come out in a moment of shock.

"Why are you laughing?" Boone questioned.

"Your Aunt is an endless source of amusement. You will find that out one day."

Boone scrunched his nose and yawned.

Eric started to chuckle again when Boone's tiny pointed fangs came into view as he yawned.

"You're silly daddy," Boone stated as his yawn came to an end.

"I must be," Eric laughed.

He pushed open the door at the end of the hall and found the two of them asleep. Sookie on his side of the bed with Amelia snuggled right up against her. He sat down on the bed next to Sookie and held Boone firmly in his lap. His son's eyes were growing wider by the second and he knew he'd have to wake her up soon.

"Sookie…"

"Mmm?"

"You've slept through dinner."

"Ohh, sorrrry," she said sleepily, reaching out for Boone.

As soon as she had him in her arms, he bit through the fabric of her shirt and began feeding.

"Oww. No, he's okay Eric. It's all right."

She adjusted Boone so that they were both a little more comfortable.

Amelia stirred next to her, sitting bolt upright when she realized there were more people in the bed. She stared at Boone as he clung to Sookie's chest.

"Is that milk?"

"No, it's still blood. I have no idea how, everything just kind of worked."

"But don't you ever…"

"Nope. It wouldn't get me anywhere to think about it, so I don't."

Amelia rubbed her eyes, then looked over at Eric. He was looking hungry too. She cautiously slid out of the bed (on the opposite side).

"I'm just gonna go in the living room…"

"Okay 'melia. Sleep well."

"You can stay," Eric said with a leer.

"In your dreams Northman!" Amelia said, blowing him off. They'd often teased each other and the playful banter made Sookie smile. "I'll be on the couch if _you_ need me," she said directing her words toward Sookie. "And you… you stay put!"

She pointed at Eric and he chuckled.

.

After putting the baby to sleep, Eric returned to the bed with food for Sookie.

"You should eat something."

"I know you're baiting me so I'll say the same to you."

"Whether you say it or not, it remains the truth my love. Though if you're too tired, I could…"

"Not on your life!"

Sookie pulled Eric toward her and kissed him passionately. She let him feed her and tend to her wounds (from Boone)… and then it was Eric's turn, which led to all sorts of wondrous things even her tired mind and body appreciated.

Curling up against him, she let out a contented sigh.

"Are you going to write tonight, my love?"

"I don't think so. Amelia and I wrote a bit earlier and I'm wiped out."

"I apologize for draining your energy."

"What? No I didn't mean that," she blushed. "It's just been a long night. Probably the longest in a very long time."

"About that."

Sookie geared up for the worst.

"I called Pam."

She let her shoulders relax.

"And?"

"She's fine. She hasn't noticed anything unusual, but will be keeping her eye out."

"And the phone?"

"Destroyed. I would have had to anyway after all the calls I made last night. I will go into town tomorrow and get another. I'll make some inquiries for Amelia as well."

"For what?"

"To find out where she will be safe."

Sookie chewed at her bottom lip.

"I apologize lover, you knew she couldn't stay."

"I knew that, but so soon? I don't see…"

"Most likely she will go to Norway. They have the lowest vampire population in Europe. She can stay in Germany with Fräulein Avis and be sighted in Spain. It will draw attention away from us. People may think we've moved on."

"Sighted? I will not let her be used as a lure Eric!"

"And she will not be. I have contacts there, Felipe has contacts there. She will be moved before discussion even begins."

"And if it's the government and not Felipe that is after the baby?"

"I believe they are one in the same."

"What?"

"I've had my suspicions… but to hear that Bill has left both the agency and Felipe's retinue, I am confident the two are working as one. For this goal alone or for others I am not presently aware of. Felipe has gained a great deal since vampires have become exposed to the world. He is now King of several prosperous states and I am not inclined to believe it is coincidence."

"But won't other vampires see him as some kind of fraud or traitor?"

"If they knew. I doubt many do. Those that do are benefitting in some fashion. I am certain the vampires who are being experimented on have no knowledge of the situation."

"Well, that's something. Do you think I should write all this down?"

"Don't worry my love. I will in the evening. For now you should sleep, I've exhausted you."

"Eric… I said…"

"If you're still arguing, I haven't done my job."

He righted the situation and she was barely able to wish him goodnight when they were through. It came out more like 'Goo-na' through her well-loved, tingly lips.

"Hush love, the sun will be rising soon."

And he quieted her with a final kiss.

.

* * *

**A/N** These creatures are straight from wikipedia, please don't count on me for accuracy, LOL! I swear that if I was writing this as a book I'd invest more time investigating, but save holding this story up for a long time, you get the lazy research. :p

**Gancanagh:** _male fairy from Irish mythology known for seducing human women. They have a toxin in their skin that makes the humans they seduce literally addicted to them. The women seduced by this type of fairy typically die from withdrawal, pining away for the Ganacanagh's love of fighting to the death for his love._

p.s. While this isn't the same exact Finn from my other story, I just couldn't help but have a small crossover for the humor of it. In this story, he is well and truly dead and not a threat to anyone. I want to state that categorically up front so I don't run amuck with it because you know I'm tempted. He's not a gancanagh in the other story either, just your run of the mill, gorgeous fairy prince. ;)

*spoiler warning* from the books, not my story particularly. If you haven't read through book 8, skip to the next part in **bold**

I don't have any plan to out Sookie as part-fae in this story because I don't have room for Niall or Claudine and all that would come with it, but I'll imply the heck out of it and come out with it right here – she's part fae. Magic will fill in a lot of blanks (things I will leave open-ended). Thanks for reading my note, you are now in the know. If you aren't feeling the special tingles of joy at the news, you probably had already figured it out and should be signing your reviews 'Holmes' or maybe Doogie. Kidding, kidding. xo

**Yama-uba:** _a mountain spirit found in Japanese folklore, typically depicted as an old crone. She preys on travelers who have become lost in her wooded lair and is skilled in the arts of sorcery, potions, and poisons. She sometimes trades her knowledge to humans if they bring her a substitute victim to eat or satisfy some similarly wicked bargain. She is connected to a flower that grows on the mountainside on which she resides; if the flower is destroyed, so is she._

Creepy, no?

Thanks to everyone for following along and wow, this actually made it out on a Monday and I'm at 7800+ words. Hurray! Good week.

Let me know if you loved it, hated it, whatnot. Feedback keeps me going strong.


	7. Mainstreaming

**(Northman Residence – 2005)**

Three days later, Eric was standing in another doorway feeling like a spectator, as his wife and their friend shared more teary hugs and kisses.

He wished there were more alternatives… but he knew there weren't. His only two choices were to keep Amelia close or push her away, and while they might have been enjoying the close quarters that week, it wouldn't have lasted. And when given the choice between watching Sookie pine for her friend or grow to resent her, it was an easy decision. However, his plan to separate them like a bandaid – quick and painless – was not turning out at all like he hoped.

His gut wrenched at the emotional display before him, yet he remained outwardly cool and collected. He needed to have his head on straight for the journey ahead; there was a lot riding on his enactment of their plan.

Eric found someone who would stay with Amelia for the whole trip from Switzerland to Norway and he lined up places for them to stay. The latter was less difficult; he and Sookie had many contacts throughout Europe. On the other hand, it was quite difficult to coerce someone to take on the challenge of ensuring her safe passage; he had little of monetary value to offer anyone and no one owed him that big of a favor. Or _could_ _ever_, Eric's believed.

What he had done instead was take a photo of Amelia with him, knowing he would also spend the next few weeks hoping and praying the woman behaved herself so as not to lose her good-natured (and two-natured) guide. Sookie would no doubt give him a good tongue-lashing when or _if _she figured it out.

He silently began his first prayer.

It was a five-hour trek to their designated meeting point and it meant he would be away from his family another night, perhaps two. But he couldn't risk their safety by drawing the meet any closer. No one - with the exception of Bill and now Amelia, who he hoped was such a mess coming and going that she forgot – knew their exact location and he wanted to keep it that way.

A great deal of convincing (or conniving if you asked Eric) on Sookie's part took place before Eric agreed to discuss their whereabouts with Bill. In his mind, it represented a breakdown in their carefully planned security.

But Sookie thought quite the opposite, insisting on at least one connection to their old life, just in case someone needed them. 'We can't be that selfish, Eric; you just don't know what the future holds!' she persevered and he conceded.

And he had to give it to her – she'd called that one.

Nonetheless, it did not stop him from weighing the potential repercussions in his mind.

_It had not been easy travelling with an infant. Would it be more or less difficult if we have to flee now?_

When the women tore apart briefly, Sookie's eyes met with his and she could tell what he was thinking. She put on a brave smile to let him know everything would be okay while he was gone.

They had more escape routes, secure areas, and meet up points planned than standard mission government agency.

And while she acknowledged nothing in life was foolproof, she had utmost confidence in her husband and trusted that Bill wouldn't have sent Amelia their way if he thought she was being trailed.

Everything had been done by the letter; Amelia had been travelling under an alias, her path was erratic (designed to confuse), and she followed every other bit of advice Bill gave her to discourage interest in her travels - just as Sookie and Eric had done many moons earlier.

Sure that Eric knew her feelings on the matter, Sookie dragged Amelia in her arms again. From her mouth came a string of jumbled thoughts, all loosely tied together by the themes 'be careful' and 'I love you.' Amelia's hands shook as she nodded rhythmically, letting Sookie's muddled, comforting words wash over her; her twitch-like movements gave her the appearance of someone who might need another dose of medication.

Standing witness to the event also was Boone, who looked confused by the whole exchange. His eyes darted between the women and his father, as if seeking an explanation for their odd behavior and Eric just shrugged. He knew the day would come where he would have to instruct his son about women… however it was not yet that day.

Then when Boone realized Amelia's things were gathered and she was leaving, tears pricked up in his eyes, spilling over to form two trickling streams when Amelia knelt down in front of him and her lips formed the words, 'good bye' followed by a nearly unintelligible 'my sweetie.'

Goodbye was not a phrase he heard often, but he knew it was significant, and was immediately filled with feelings of its permanence; he wasn't happy to accept it. Boone rushed through so many emotions in quick succession that his little face flushed in consternation. He wasn't one for scenes and yet both bystanders - Eric and Sookie - could tell a big one was brewing.

Sookie intervened by suggesting Boone grab the headdress they made for Amelia two days before. With a quivering lip, he slinked off to his bedroom to retrieve it.

It made Eric very proud that he listened to his mother, even when he was upset. He tried not to smile in light of the overall situation.

Amelia wiped at her cheeks uselessly, there was more moisture than her hands could draw away, and Sookie rifled through the cabinet under the sink looking for another box of tissues.

Amelia's glance met Eric's and he smiled amiably.

"You'll have to wait for the waterworks from me. We still have some time together yet 'melia."

It was a small gesture, using one of the informal variations of her name that Sookie made up, but it was cause for Amelia to tear up again.

He thought she said something along the lines of 'I love you too' but it was scattered among curse words and something condescending about being a man or a Scandinavian man… He didn't put much thought into figuring it out as he was immediately caught by Sookie who fixed him with a hard stare.

Eric took the _subtle_ hint and gave Amelia a hug. He hummed quietly in Old Norse as he'd done so many times with Sookie and Boone; it seemed to comfort her.

"Aha!"

Both Eric and Amelia turned their heads toward Sookie, who was clutching a box of Tempo tissues victoriously.

She grinned, not at all self-conscious. She'd take her wins where she could and her exuberant smile was proof of that.

_Let anyone try to mess with me or my family (or hide the tissues at the back of the cupboard). I'll show them! _

A moment later, when Boone returned, there were no more tears but rather a stern resignation on his face and that made Sookie's heart break more so than if he were bawling.

Two steps forward. One step back. Her smile melted.

_How shit would his life have to get before it got better? Would he jump so quickly to resigned if he lost her or Eric? _

_What are we doing to him emotionally to make him so tough… so hardened to emotion. _

Sookie flustered and fussed, her mind weighing up near everything she had done as a parent, and then ignored it all in favor of scooping him up and squeezing him incredibly tight. She was glad he had no need to breathe because she wasn't leaving him much room for it. Even she was becoming dizzy as she clutched him.

Crying, she smoothed his hair until his wiggling against her grew too strong for her to hold him. He slipped from her grasp into Amelia's waiting arms and handed over the headdress expediently.

Unwilling to let go, Sookie encircled them both with her arms.

Eric took the headdress from them and put it in Amelia's small luggage bag, allowing them time to complete their goodbyes. He was glad he set the time to depart a bit earlier than necessary to accommodate all the sniffling.

Upon further reflection, he stuffed a handful of tissues in the bag as well.

After a moment, he placed a hand on Sookie's shoulder and she eased up, giving Amelia a final kiss on the cheek.

Eric kissed Sookie's salty cheek and then the top of Boone's head before leaving. He waited in the yard until he heard all the locks click into place, and then he took Amelia's arm and led her toward the woods in the direction of Sankt Gallen.

.

"Why?" Boone whispered just moments after Amelia left as he followed Sookie into the small living room.

She pulled a game down from the shelf and set it up on the floor.

Trying to stick with the truth as much as possible with him, she replied, "It's not safe here for other people, love."

He looked at her with puzzlement in his eyes.

After a minute or so, during which he chose the green gingerbread man for himself, the yellow for Sookie, and put them at start, he stated, "I would look after her, y'know."

His face, propped up by his hand as they lay on the floor, was entirely serious.

_Too precious. _

"I know you could sweetie, but Amelia will be safest where daddy is taking her."

"Are you sure?"

If Eric was sure, so was she.

"I'm sure."

They spent the rest of the night distracting their minds and Sookie spent most of the day writing.

She had a hard time sleeping any time when Eric was away and while she was sure he would be safe, she just couldn't settle down long enough to close her eyes.

**(Pen up – Sookie) **

My mind is such a garbled mess and my stomach is twisting up something awful. I haven't been able to keep a thing down all day.

Beyond everything else (the inevitable) that was going on, I was really worried for Mason. I thought he was showing signs of turning off his emotions and it scared me.

Both Eric and I have had to battle with those issues to survive and neither of us wants that for our child.

But we had a good cry this morning before he fell asleep and all feels right there. I think I'll have to work harder on not bottling things up myself, set an example.

Boone was so quickly attached to Amelia; I hadn't expected it. He's already sworn he is going to do a drawing for her every day. I'll keep them together for him. If he keeps up with it, it might be something fun to look back on or maybe we can share them with Amelia some day. I know she would like that.

It's been too easy the past few days; I should have acknowledged it would end up like this, but ignorance is bliss and subconsciously I must have felt as though we deserved it.

_Separation_ is a strong word for me. I feel like it defines so much of my life it's uncanny. And so I've fought not to become attached to begin with. After Gran, I felt like I could make that choice – live in a no strings attached sort of manner, but it's just not how I'm built.

My heart was never going to allow it. As much as I bricked it off, emotions seeped out and people snuck in.

I jokingly call Amelia the best friend I never wanted. But it's not really true. I always _wanted_, I was too afraid to reach out. I wanted a family… friends… to feel connected, to be a part of the world in front of the scenes, not just behind.

Up until the day vampires actually came out, so to speak, I divided my time between being with Eric, going on missions with Bill (and occasionally Amelia), and spending increasingly more time with vampires and their human companions/entourage.

The CIA was in talks with many of the vampire kings and queens in the States and several other governments; everything was being set up.

Not everyone was happy about it, but the general consensus was positive.

Note that the general consensus was for the most part limited to those in 'power'… those that stood to gain (financially) from the situation.

Bill was excited (well, beneath his cool exterior, but I could tell).

Eric was indifferent. Or at least that is the impression he gave me. He made many contradictory statements and I wondered if he was actually trying to throw me off. I asked him, on more than one occasion, if he thought I was bugged *or worse, that my loyalty did not lie with him.

Always replying no, and very casually, it left me very curious about how he did feel. Those were still the days of physical intimacy above emotional, though admittedly I was already _very_ attached. I'm still not quite sure what I thought I was holding back at that point.

It wasn't until we had our issues with mainstreaming that all my crazy came out at once. If there was ever a better time to use the phrase 'opening the floodgates' …

He got a big 'ole heap of nutty Sookie one night, a few weeks after the bar opened publicly as a 'place to mingle among the undead.'

It was the first time a fanatic came in with a stake and I was terrified. I saw the news before I heard a word from him and I was livid by the time he arrived in Bon Temps.

I was pacing in the yard when he arrived, with half a mind to walk to Shreveport to sort out what was going on; his phone kept ringing out.

"Eric!" I screeched when he strolled out of the woods, looking nonchalant, smoothing his hair after the flight.

Torn between digging his eyes out with my fingers and running to him to find comfort in his arms, I held my ground, standing stock-still.

"Sookie."

"Sookie? Sookie?! That's all you have to say?"

"And what is it you wish for me to say?"

Clever enough to keep his distance, he nodded toward the house as if to suggest 'perhaps we should take this inside.'

"Something! And preferably something of substance."

I was not moving.

Eric sighed intentionally and shrugged. The moonlit glow in the yard was striking against his pale hair, the shadows of his face magnificent… and I averted my eyes to avoid the sparkle I knew would be in his own if he turned just the tiniest fraction of an inch to the left.

I needed to hold out, to get information, before he got any sort of 'ok' from me.

"There was an incident at Fangtasia this evening. The person behind the act overestimated his strength or lost confidence at the last moment. No one was fatally wounded, not even the man who attempted to kill Thalia. Pam was able to halt retaliation. Immediate, anyhow… the man chose his target poorly. Thalia is resting now, but she will heal in a few days. I do not believe I can reason with her."

I knew Thalia; she was a force of her own. Eric was right… that man was toast. Not that he deserved much better, but I didn't want to dwell on Thalia's methods of exacting revenge. I wanted to tell Eric how worried I was for him, no matter how silly it sounded. He was a big boy; he could take care of himself. He had done so for over a thousand years, but it didn't stop me from wanting to coddle him – to hold him close and feel like I was actively protecting him from the new dangers in _our_ life.

It would be step one in the Sookie Stackhouse plan of achieving a whole life, one with feelings and meaningful relationships, which of course I hadn't realized was a plan until that exact moment.

As I stepped boldly toward him, he flinched – for amusement's sake… I guess to lighten the mood and it worked, I smiled. I gave up some of my game before I closed the distance between us.

_Damn you, Eric! I wanted you to think I might actually be moving toward you to do you some bodily harm rather than crumble to pieces in front of you._

And crumble I did.

I broke down like a lemon fifty yards away from the dealership. No refunds.

And he stayed.

He held me while I told him everything and he shared his own dark secrets when my throat was too sore to keep talking.

We stayed up the entire night and I joined him in the little cubbyhole we hollowed out under the closet floor during the day.

That day we both slept like the dead.

.

After that, we fell back into our regular routine, though things between us were forever changed.

And it was still too overwhelming for me to think of a future, of anything but what we already had. We'd taken a giant leap forward in one night and I needed to stick to baby steps after that.

Like I suspected, Felipe enjoyed great success. After vampires came out, he made _a lot_ of money, mostly to do with marketing and his ownership of several large businesses in his home state of Nevada. People flocked to the area when they found out he had a hand in the Las Vegas pot.

Everyone wanted to be closer to vampires. It was all so cosmopolitan it made me ill. I spent enough time with Felipe to know he wasn't a good egg. I only heard what he said directly and what others said about him, but I learned to read between the lines when I was 5. I knew better.

He was selling out anyone who didn't agree with him and he had the convenience of the US government to back him up. Two sheriffs from Arkansas 'disappeared' and it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Eric was furious, but he had enough in his own area to take care of.

He was one of the vampires who wasn't exactly enjoying 'the good life' though attendance at the bar and sales were generally up. Things were better when he was merely a character representing a possibility, he told me.

Now that he was 'really' a vampire, the bar was a serious target for religious zealots.

And if that wasn't enough, many of the newcomers were flooding the bar seeking immortality, as if it were his sole duty in life to produce as many vampires as possible.

He had to talk so many of the humans down, glamour them, and keep them away from Thalia, that it was like a new full time job. He hired extra help at the bar – Longshadow and an ex-pirate known as Twining, who he sent by to check on me when things were too crazy to escape.

I resented my part in the movement and I almost knocked the television set over one day when an ad came on for 'True Blood' – a new imported blood beverage from Japan. I hated it because it looked better than what had been floating around in the U.S. and it was just another reminder that there was no going back… only forward.

And then, my worst nightmare came to fruition - Eric got taken.

I woke to the sound of the phone blaring - not my CIA phone, my personal non-traceable phone. I stumbled out of bed, half awake… purely running on instinct.

If the phone was ringing I needed to answer it.

_Now Sookie, get it now. _

I pressed the teeny green button and put the phone to my ear. My throat was dry; my words came out squeaky.

"Ye… ah, Hello?"

"Sookie, it's Bill."

_Okay… starting to get suspicious… we had nothing planned for that night._

I waited for more information.

"They've got Eric."

"Fuck, Bill. I know you are one for brevity, but if you don't start giving me details, I'll tear you limb from limb myself."

"Here, Sookie; he's here."

"WHERE is here?"

_Has he lost his marbles?_

"I'm at my office. I heard some commotion about an hour ago. I can't stay long. I will be by before morning. Can I spend the day? I'll be pushing it with the timing, but if it's dark enough, we might be able to sort something out."

"Anything," I said simply and I meant it.

We both hung up.

I scratched at the horrid paint in the living room while I waited. And I thought of Eric.

_Had they figured out Bill and I were undermining their missions? Was this some sort of payback? Were they holding him ransom? Or did they want him? And why? Was he in trouble? He had been having issues with the King, but I didn't see how it related. He was keeping quiet about it…_

There was a knock at the door and I jumped up and yelled, "Come in!"

"I could have been anyone," Bill admonished, "And you laid out a welcome mat."

"I knew it was you. Don't be ridiculous."

"You know my blood. You can't hear my thoughts. They are two very different things, Sookie. What if someone came by with my body or smeared with my blood and you let them in."

_Did I not just say 'don't be ridiculous'? _

"Just tell me where Eric is and what's going on?"

"All right."

It wasn't long before Bill had to retire to the hidey-hole and I struggled to sleep.

_Would it be like last time, if he broke out would they leave him alone? Could I do anything to assist without jeopardizing Bill?_

.

Two miserable weeks later, Bill snuck me in to see Eric. The place was mostly deserted bar security and usual inhabitants. Bill told his superiors we needed the training facilities and I guessed they cleared out to not let me in on any _secrets_. The biggest of which I felt I already knew anyway.

Eric was staying in a room that didn't look a thing like the reinforced concrete building it was inside and it reminded me of my own time living there. I pushed back my own feelings about the place and focused on Eric.

I sat on the couch beside him.

"You should not have risked coming here. They will know you are valuable to me."

"I don't give a fig about that. And they would know _you_ are valuable to _me_ too. We don't know if that isn't how you got into this mess to begin with…"

"Perhaps."

Remembering my mission, I searched his body for marks of torture, frantically tugging up his shirt, pulling at his sleeves. Except for a few small scratches (the cat I had growing up could have dished out worse), he was utterly intact.

"What have they been doing with you?"

"Throwing blood donors and fangbangers at me."

"For what?"

"I'm not sure. Sookie, I haven't accepted… if you were wondering."

I honestly hadn't thought to question his integrity. Not for some time. As far as I was concerned, we were on the same page and I was more worried that he hadn't had a decent supply of blood in two weeks.

"But Eric, you can't starve yourself."

"Bill brought me blood, the bottled kind. And he brought me you."

Eric smirked and pulled me into his lap, his eyes fixated hungrily on my breasts as they jostled with the sudden movement.

"Eric, you can't make jokes of this! We don't know what they want with you."

"You are very right, lover. No more jokes. Let's see to my needs first, since you seemed so concerned only a moment ago. Then if there is time…"

I was so mad at him for joking around but more than that I knew I needed him too and I couldn't deny that.

He nipped at my neck and licked along my neckline, playing with the buttons on my blouse with his teeth when he reached them.

"I haven't brought any spare clothes, so be careful."

Eric tugged a bit harder and smiled when the button snapped off, exposing more cleavage.

"You know, when I walk out of here naked and Bill has to take me home, that might be interesting."

He slowly undid the rest of the buttons with his fingers, cautiously following suit with my jeans. I wasn't quite as gentle with him. I didn't make a fuss earlier when he mentioned the fangbangers, but damn it if I didn't want to mark him all over so that other women knew he was spoken for.

**(Pen down – Sookie)**

Sookie put down the journal because she heard a noise out in the yard. She shared blood the night before with Eric and her senses were on high alert. Sneaking a look outside, she realized it was night already.

_Eric must have made it back to the closest town the night before and spent the day there…_

She hardly thought it possible, but if he was missing her as much as she was already missing him, than just maybe.

As she walked to the kitchen, her heart began to race.

She was anticipating either an hour or so with her husband before their son woke and ran amuck or another visitor… and considering their recent circumstances she wasn't sure this visitor would be a welcome one.

.

.

A/N If you have a minute and could leave a review, please do. It makes my day and makes writing the next chapter so much more fun. Thanks!!


	8. Conception

Just as Sookie was about to slide the heavy, metal shade up an inch or so higher to get a better look outside, she was interrupted.

The Mexican hat dance was calling out from her desk drawer. The sound should have been muffled… but as she had been straining her ears to hear outside, it sounded positively impatient as the tune repeated **loudly** in her ears.

_All right!_ Her mind couldn't take the clamour.

She rushed for the office and dug out the phone.

"Bill?"

"Sookie."

He sounded relieved; he also sounded worried. Neither of which were typical Bill intonations; he normally kept everything under lock and key.

"Bill, I'd ask whether this is important or not, but I know it is… so I have to come out and say it. This _will_ have to wait regardless. Someone is outside and I'm not one hundred percent sure it's my husband."

She slipped the phone back into her hair, still partially listening as she tiptoed back to the kitchen window. Moving the shutters up, she stared out into the darkness, inhaling the cool night air with vigour in an attempt to pick something up.

Bill was the tracker of the group; she wished he could perform through the telephone. She was struggling to scent anything out of the ordinary.

"It may be Amelia, I sent her to Europe with instruction to find you," Bill offered.

"Nope. Already come and gone. Thank you by the way."

The sentiment could have come across as sounding sarcastic, but Bill knew better; Sookie meant it.

"It seems too early for…"

"You sent someone else?"

"No."

If he took any offence to her question, he didn't show it. A weight lifted off her shoulders; this was _normal_ Bill, much better than uneasy Bill. She didn't know that Bill very well and she had enough on her plate.

But it still sounded like he thought someone else was coming to…

"Where is Eric?"

He beat her to the punch. In that moment, she was planning to ask him about what he meant – just whom he thought would be paying them a visit, but now she had to answer his question first.

"Is your line secure?"

"Of course."

"He took Amelia to meet with a contact of his. From there, she'll travel to Norway. That's honestly as much as I know. And I didn't expect him back until much later in the evening, or maybe tomorrow."

That got Sookie wondering. _Where was Bill if he was calling at this hour? Not in Louisiana, that's for sure. _However, there were more pressing matters.

"Felipe has scheduled an excursion to Europe with his entourage. He has a planned visit to Spain for two weeks, and no engagements in the U.S. for an entire month."

"That's unusual?"

"From what I can tell; the King keeps a fairly full agenda."

_Yes, I remembered that much from the brief time I spent with him._

"You're worried he has other plans in Europe?"

"It was only a matter of time."

"Why now?"

"He may believe it advantageous to remove Mason from his home at a young age. There have been complications on this end; testing has been halted. It may also be that he has decided to rid himself of Eric when he would likely not be found at fault."

_I guess he's right; we're in hiding with no one checking in on us, or at least not often. If Felipe wanted to kill Eric and I and take our son, this would be the best time. He'd have plenty of time to dispose of our bodies and without bodies; no one would be able to calculate when we'd disappeared. Not many knew we had a child either…_

Bill was still talking, and when Sookie began to listen again, she found herself caught off guard.

"Repeat that?"

"The King carries with him a pardon for your desertion?"

"Yeah, that was it. Why?"

Bill paused.

"Bill?"

"You're a commodity also."

"To the government, maybe… but changing my AWOL status before bringing me in wouldn't do them much good. Their only hope is extradition. Freeing me of that…"

"To the King," Bill added, breaking up her naïve speech.

"And what the hell does he want with me?"

Without faltering, Bill continued, "You are aware you're the only woman to have given birth to a vampire child?"

"Yes."

"Do you not see how that would be valuable to a powerful vampire, whose offspring thus far have been selected, but not created, in his image? And… you're a very attractive young woman. I daresay that has some influence."

_Thanks for the compliment Bill, _she thought with irritation as her mind began to stew over the rest of it.

So it was her and her son they wanted. She didn't quite know how to feel. Why did the world continually try and strip from her the small treasures she had in life. Was she really asking for _that_ much?

"Sookie, I won't let it happen."

_You and what army?_ Because they'd surely need one if they were going up against Felipe, and it was clear her own government had bartered her off.

As if he could predict what she'd been thinking, he replied cryptically, "All is not as it seems. We have more up our own sleeves than you would think. I've kept you too long… I must go. I will call again; same time tomorrow evening. Be safe."

"I will."

"And Sookie? Please, don't go outside if you don't know who is there. Call for Eric and take Boone and head to safety. Don't try and fight them alone… It is not that I believe you are not capable, rather that the King's interests have been leaning toward witchcraft and I'm afraid what may appear to be a simple kill could be a trap."

Just then, her heart picked up rhythm. She knew who was outside.

"Bill… it's Eric," Sookie said quickly before hanging up the phone.

Sookie didn't really want to, but considering Eric was still some distance away - god knows where in the woods - she made her way to the office and slid the phone back into the desk.

It was more of a connection to home than Eric would have appreciated – a direct link to Bill, though not one her and Bill utilized often – and she wanted to enjoy a few moments of uninterrupted evening with Eric, so she decided to leave it alone. The phone was best back in the drawer for the moment.

She opened the door and rushed out into the front yard, letting her thumping heart and husky breathing guide him to her.

It took Eric approximately four minutes to make it to the front yard; he was sure he'd never travelled faster. The moment he felt her, he knew she needed him.

Yet, he didn't discern the capacity in which she desired him until he found her breathless, waiting for him with rosy cheeks in little but a nightshirt.

Smiling as he circled her, he approached from behind, sneaking into her peripheral vision as he moved closer.

Sookie knew he was there, but still it caused her heart to rocket up in her chest when her eyes laid on him.

He was a vision - rugged and strong, with all the experiences in the world behind his cheeky expression. How he managed to witness everything he had and remain eager for more left Sookie puzzled initially… but now it made her feel secure.

She knew whatever choice she made for her own mortality; they would make it through together.

Placing his cool hands on her burning cheeks, he smiled as her eyes closed in pleasure. A current of excitement rippled through both of them.

"This is an unexpected welcoming," Eric mused between kisses, cooling her face with his lips, though to little avail; the flush continued to rise.

The short silk dress she wore felt suffocating against her skin and she was itching to take it off.

More than happy to oblige, Eric slipped it up over her head, his mouth following his hands as he removed it slowly. After assisting her, he stripped off his own clothes, muddy and wet from a long trek through the woods.

They stood in the yard stark naked, appraising each other, soaking up every detail as if they'd been apart for more than just the one day. When their eyes met, they shared a mutual smile.

Eric moved forward and nipped at Sookie's neck playfully, and she giggled, curving into him, finding her place tucked against his large frame as he lifted her and moved them into the house.

Sneaking a look at the clock in the kitchen as they moved past, he determined they had 35 minutes before Boone would be in his groggy morning stupor. 50 until he was fully alert and would come looking for them.

It was less time than he hoped for, and he was even more thankful he'd made his way home quickly.

.

Afterwards, Sookie was teary.

Eric squeezed her tight with his left arm and kissed her forehead.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Huh? Nothing. I just wish this could last forever."

He arched an eyebrow.

"We have been down that road. If I remember correctly, (_and I always do_, the accompanying look said) you complained 'you never got anything done'."

She swatted at him.

"That's not what I meant."

Then she smiled sweetly, considering the idea. His own smile grew. He pushed her hair back and kissed her behind the ear teasingly, then took her earlobe within his teeth and tugged lightly.

The fire in her belly rekindled.

"Eric… I…"

He moved his body so that he was facing her again and his eyes levelled, meeting hers. It was the best way to gauge how she felt when she talked.

"Bill called."

Sookie's eyes were tentative; she didn't want to share, but knew she had to.

Eric waited for her explanation.

And Sookie begrudgingly gave it.

.

"Where is this phone?"

_Was that really his first question? _

She was about to argue that it was irrelevant, that he had no right to destroy it, when Boone came stumbling around the corner.

Occasionally, they called him their little drunken sailor because of how uncoordinated he was first thing in the evening. Also, Sookie swore he said the damnedest things when he was 'under the influence' of the vampire sleeping spell.

Sookie moved toward the doorway to scoop up Boone, but Eric beat her to it, raising his eyebrow as he collected the little boy and asked again "Where is the phone?"

With the two of them together like that, it was too much to say no to. Eric had their best interests at heart; she knew that.

"Office. Top drawer."

"Will you be giving Boone a bath?"

"I guess so, with everything going on yesterday, we forgot. Perhaps I should wait until I'm sure the little sailor won't drown."

She was trying to make a joke, but Eric didn't smile and she couldn't bring herself to either.

It was little things like that, that pissed her off. She almost preferred a full frontal attack to the subtle ways politic-induced stress affected her life. She knew how to deal with being _physically_ assaulted.

They shared a strained kiss as she took Boone from his arms, moving with him to the bathroom to get the tub started.

Eric flipped open the phone, looked up the last number, and dialled it.

"Sookie?"

"Incorrect."

"Eric…"

In the bathroom, Sookie could hear every word, even Bill's voice through the phone. She hadn't expected Eric to use the phone to _call_ him, she assumed he'd take it out into the woods and tear it apart.

"Excuse me a moment," Eric said to Bill before addressing both Bill and eavesdropping Sookie, "I'll be taking this call outside."

He never missed a beat. She'd finagle the rest out of him later.

"How long has my wife had this phone?" Eric questioned, when he was a safe distance away from the house.

"That particular phone or the ability to contact me if she needed me?"

"Careful, Bill."

"Since we parted. I needed for her to be able to contact me. Surely you understand…"

"I could not care less about what you _need_, Bill. And I do not understand why you would risk my family's lives to assuage your mind."

Bill was appalled. He had done nothing but provide Sookie with information on the rare occasion, and it was always important and _always_ done securely.

"I merely informed Sookie about Felipe's travel plans."

"I've heard; I do have contacts."

"Sookie didn't know."

There was no way to answer that, except by stating the truth. Bill was right; she didn't know. He'd only just found out himself and she beaten him to it when she shared the information she'd gleaned from Bill.

He made haste to return home and get things in order when he'd heard the news… and he didn't like being talked down to by Bill Compton of all people.

"I will see that my family is protected."

"So will I."

Bill hung up.

Eric's fingers tightened around the phone as he moved it away from his ear. He had to consciously ease up on his grip to avoid breaking it. Sookie had confided in him about its location; he couldn't break it now.

But he would make sure he was let in on any further conversations.

Returning to the house, he slipped the phone in the drawer, then went to the kitchen to retrieve a True Blood. No use hiding them if Sookie knew anyway.

He walked into the bathroom, not bothering to wait and see if he were welcome.

"And who is having the bath here?" Eric inquired, taking in the sight before him.

The tub looked more full of bubble than bath and Sookie was wearing her share of the excess bubbles spilling over the edge.

"I am!" Mason squealed, kicking his feet in the shallow water so that more white foam flew up into the air.

"Taking this over too are you?"

"Just observing."

He'd given Boone his share of baths, but she was being testy, so he kept his response brief.

Sookie turned back toward the bath and began sudsing up Boone's hair. When she looked back in the doorway for Eric, he wasn't there. He was kneeling next to her. She almost jumped she was so surprised.

Eric just smiled and took some bubbles from her shoulder and placed them on her nose.

Boone chuckled and it wasn't long before all of them were laughing and blowing foamy bubbles at each other.

.

A few hours later, the boys were outside and Sookie took some time to write. She was torn between continuing what she'd written the time before and writing about what was currently going on. Feeling as though she didn't have a firm grasp on the latter, she cycled back and read over a paragraph or two of what she'd written previously to bring her up to speed.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

(as a sidenote to Eric) You know, it's not the same picking this up and continuing on, as it is when you've written something in the middle. Not that my memory is lacking, but your commentary spurs me forward.

.

I guess where I left off last time was with Boone's conception – sometime in February or March, though going by the timing, it was during one of our last encounters, before we were separated. Not that either of us knew it at the time.

So, how? I'm sure that will be the question people would be most interested in. Well I can only write about what I know and it's unfortunately not much.

The blood donors Eric mentioned, the ones the government was sending into his room late at night, were loaded with a serum designed to stimulate his - there is no delicate way to put this, but I'll try – swimmers.

His body has the ability to regenerate cells – of every kind except for those that make up his heart. It took targeting and destroying the reproductive cells he already had to allow new ones to form, potent ones. It is almost like making vampires of the potential he has inside.

But isn't that only half of the equation? As far as I know, it goes against the laws of creation to generate a being with 23 chromosomes. But that's based on what I know of human biology. Vampire biology is a whole new ballgame.

Are there laws of reanimation that apply to embryos or the factors that join to create an embryo?

I don't know. I rarely think about it to be honest. It brings up questions about my part in all of it that I'm not ready to ponder. And if I were, I wouldn't even know where to start. But part of me knows Amelia is right. Whatever I am, it's not human, at least not entirely.

Hearing that Felipe is messing about in magic makes me curious as well and I know the government's knowledge reaches far greater than they let on. But it couldn't be as simple as all that. Why else were failure rates so high?

I suppose we won't know until the documents become unclassified. If ever. Or they somehow find their way into our hands. I have no plans to go back there anytime soon.

But to get back on track…

There were blood donors with tainted blood.

And fangbangers? Uteri for hire I suppose, though if I had to guess, I'd put money on the fact their blood was messed with too.

Why send two types of people? I guess to try Eric on different levels, see if and where he would accept blood.

It was actually on three different levels, but I'll get to that in a moment.

And I suppose being a vampire; they thought he'd succumb to their temptresses. After all, he wasn't the only vampire they held captive over the years. They'd had some experience. And no idea that he and I were… well, whatever we were. Something, but not something I'd allowed a clear definition to be placed on.

And if I think back now, there was warmth to his – again floundering here for word choice, I'll fill it in later – but I thought it was just me at the time. I was only able to see him a few times a week in the beginning and then for so long after that we were apart; I thought half of it was me imagining things.

Utter confusion followed. So that didn't help me keep things straight either.

Oh wait, before I get to that. Let me clear Eric's name first and foremost.

Eric did **not** take blood from anyone, well except for bottled blood from Bill. And it might be why he is distrustful of Bill to this day. Bill knew he wouldn't accept the donors or look twice at the fangbangers thrust at him. And though the powers that be decided to go that route, Bill anticipated and slipped the same concoction into the bottled blood he provided as an _alternative_.

Needless to say, Eric doesn't like being deceived. I suppose neither would I, but I can understand that Bill was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'd been on enough missions with him where he had intentionally screwed things up. And as a result, he had to give them _something_ as a sign of good faith – cause for him to stay in their employ, in the good books.

He taught me to choose my battles, to weigh the potential outcomes of several situations before deciding how to proceed. So much of who I am now is based on what Bill taught me. Eric as well, but Bill had, in a way, raised me when I was without guidance. And as a result, I've always been able to understand his responsibility toward me. And the attachment goes both ways.

So I didn't spend time wondering about my own place in that situation, though it could easily have been that he was using me. It was possible Bill knew something about me that I didn't. And questionable at best from an outsider's perspective if his desire was truly for me to be happy and spend time with Eric. It seemed much more likely he was using me as a means to an end, to gain favour with his employers.

But I didn't question it. I just don't. I'm more than ninety percent sure he didn't mean for it to happen like it did. Why else would he have broken ties with them now?

And then there is the plain and simple fact, I'm thankful for what he did.

I know it's wrong. That I should wish it were different, for Eric's sake or maybe even Boone's, but I just can't. He's brought me so much that I… I couldn't even put it into words if I tried.

It wasn't an easy pregnancy, but since I didn't have anything to weigh it up against (and neither did Pam or Amelia), I dealt with it. It wasn't even that I missed my figure or my freedom. What crushed me was that Eric and I created something and I wasn't sure he'd be around for the rest.

And a small part of me, one that I tried my hardest to ignore, was wondering if I wasn't the only one having Eric's child. Petty and stupid, but that voice was in there somewhere.

Seven months we were apart.

That's a long time for a newly fertile male to… well; I don't think I need to fill in the blank. And it's a long time for that part of me, however small, to gnaw at me.

Amelia gave me her assurances, even when I didn't ask for them, but all Pam could say in a moment of frankness was, "I honestly don't know. I've never been in love."

I suppose the fact she thought Eric loved me meant something. But, on the whole, she wasn't a very convincing advocate for vampire fidelity, no matter how sweet she was with me.

I just realized I forgot to mention how I ended up in the care of Pam and Amelia anyhow.

Bill knew long before I did that I was pregnant. I don't know how. Perhaps he could read me better than I could read myself. Maybe it was that we'd shared blood, or maybe it was just because he was a vampire and they could sense these things.

But why didn't Eric know? Maybe the two-week time difference made an impact? I had access to Eric semi-regularly for about a month under the guise of using equipment with Bill, then the facility was invaded by execs and Bill and I had to keep our distance.

Time was wearing on me; I could only sharpen my knives so many times and I felt so disconnected from the world that watching television no longer had any entertainment value.

We didn't have any work-related distractions while the big guns were in town. Nearly everyone in our area was inactive, receiving assessment of some kind. Though I never got mine.

Two days before my scheduled evaluation, Bill showed up at my door with Pam and Amelia.

I was wary, and also a little hopeful that they'd figured out a way to get to Eric.

"In the car sweetheart."

"Bill, what's going on?"

"There's no time."

"Amelia?"

"Sookie, we have to go."

"Now," Pam added aptly.

I accepted Bill's outstretched hand and he whisked me off to a car I didn't recognize.

"Is… Eric?" I managed to sneak in before hands were pushing at me from behind.

"Huh? … Backseat."

Bill opened the back door and helped me in. Helped is being kind, he all put shoved me inside the car in his haste. Amelia and Pam climbed in the front. The doors all shut simultaneously.

_Had they rehearsed this?_

Pam pealed out of the driveway and I fell against Bill. I didn't have time to put a seatbelt on.

"Is someone going to tell me what is going on?"

"Yes," Bill replied.

_Thank goodness._

"But not now. Lift your hair and turn around."

Our eyes met, his insistent, mine indignant.

"You will explain," I said under my breath as I turned and pulled my hair up with one hand. I used the other hand to steady myself against the back of Pam's seat. She was driving fast, but not fast enough to arouse suspicion.

_She'd have made a good agent,_ I thought without really thinking, because truly what a horrible thing to think.

I heard a funny little whirring noise coming from behind me and then I felt Bill's arm snake around and settle against my chest.

"What in the he…"

Then I felt the chain around my neck slip and the little heart fell into Bill's waiting hand.

The engine revved and we sped about as fast as I thought the car could travel before the explosion.

The back tires lifted and Amelia looked to Pam nervously.

I stared straight ahead through the windscreen, catching the bursts of light in my peripheral vision.

The tires connected with the ground again – it felt like forever we were waiting in that moment, lingering between life and death.

I swallowed deeply. Had I not followed Bill's instruction, we might have been even closer to that explosion.

"Did we do that or did they?"

They all had different answers.

I looked first to Bill who said 'we.'

"We may have expedited the process."

"So, they had plans to utilize that? Why?"

"Not exactly."

Unable to hold out, Amelia turned around and let the cat out of the bag.

"Sookie, you're pregnant!"

"What… I…"

I found I couldn't come up with any reasons to disagree.

The news was clearly the bigger bomb.

Pam spoke up.

"Eric will be pleased."

_How the hell could she know? And why would he be pleased?_

I didn't stop to think that she might be comforting me because it didn't seem normal coming from Pam. All I could think was who cared what Eric would think; he wasn't there.

And what about me? Didn't anyone care what I thought?

Apparently not, because no one asked.

That's not really fair of me to say. Amelia and Pam did the best they could with the situation. I was the one always bringing things down, so it's hard not to recall that time without becoming sour about it. Pam called me glumboots. It actually made me laugh after a while because I had no idea where she got it from.

Pam's humour through everything was refreshing and I couldn't help but enjoy spending time with her, it was like having a part of Eric with me (because I chose not to acknowledge the greater piece I carried within me).

It took me longer to warm to Amelia. I know it sounds funny because she was softer than Pam, and she tried a lot harder too. But from day one, I didn't understand why she was there and I took a great deal of my frustration out on her.

Months passed before I truly began to appreciate what she'd done for me. And I'll never understand why she took the risk.

.

"Amelia?"

"Yes, Sook?"

"I'm scared."

It was one of very few times in my life I actually felt the terror I was surrounded by and let myself cry.

It would have been easy to be vulnerable with Eric, Bill, or even Amelia, but I was often too proud to put that burden on them. And I'd been vulnerable when it all began, where had that gotten me? As much as I could, I wanted to find my own way through things.

Amelia held me close, which was quite an interesting feat considering my monstrous belly.

"We'll get Eric. He won't miss this."

"What if we don't?"

"The Sookie I know doesn't think like that."

"Amelia, it's these blasted hormones. I don't have control of my own mind!"

"I know sweetie. Do you want me to get you salad? Maybe some chicken nuggets slathered in honey?"

I'd been big on spinach in every form; I couldn't seem to get enough of it and Amelia made some really amazing salads. And the chicken nuggets… well, that's self-explanatory really, isn't it?

"I'm not hungry."

Amelia looked at me dubiously. Not a day had gone past into my second trimester where I said that. I was _always_ hungry, often ravenously so; I worried that I was eating Amelia out of house and home.

As if in confirmation, Boone sloshed around in my belly, kicking my insides and a deep growl emitted from the pit of my stomach.

"Oww. I really don't know when this is coming or even how it's going to get out, but I don't think it's happy to be in there anymore."

Amelia frowned. She'd had enough of the _it's_, _this's_, and _that's_, and she'd tried her hardest to get me to choose names.

But I wasn't interested in her baby name books, just as much as I had no desire to read 'What to expect when you're expecting' because I knew about 95% of it would not apply to me and if any of it was relevant, I really didn't want to know anyway.

So Amelia read them. Tossing tidbits at me whenever she could.

If I heard "So how do you feel about …?" Substitute your name of choice for the … (e.g. Aaron or Delia, were the two she pestered with the most) one more time, I'd have strangled her with my bare hands.

She took all my weaponry away at month 4 even though I insisted I needed it if the house was broken into.

"They've got no reason to suspect anything is going on here," she said time and time again.

Amazingly, she was right. I can only hope the same about our house now. That by some miracle, we'll remain undetected. It's a cowardly way to think and I swear I wanted to be taken when I was staying with Amelia. I welcomed a distraction, any distraction, to remove me from the limbo I was living in.

Because I didn't have any other plans… I was living day to day, assuming I'd figure _it_ out later. It went against all my training, but that was all I could do. There was no planning in advance because the cards changed everyday.

And if I sat still and thought about the future, what a few weeks away might hold, I would have lost it. And some part of me, guided by the remaining pieces of my willpower, wanted to stick around. To have faith in my friends (a novel concept) and pray for the best with regards to Eric.

I'd like to say that I had some amazing connection with god during my pregnancy. That my faith carried me through, that we'd had a heart to heart or I felt some presence with me… but it wasn't like that.

Even with Amelia or Pam in the same room at times, I felt abandoned.

**(Pen down – Sookie)**

Eric walked into the office with Boone slung over his shoulder, the toddler laughing so hard he snorted intermittently.

_What a moment for them to walk in._

Sookie smiled, leaving her things on the desk so she could join in the moment of frivolity.

.

After a long night, where both of them had time to compile their thoughts, they looked at each other with a mixture of sadness and anticipation. It had to be now; there was no more putting it off.

"We won't leave."

"What?"

"Our whereabouts remain unknown. That is not to say our chances are greater if we stay put. It is quite the opposite, but we are safe here for the meantime and I'll not have us cower to threats. It's exactly what he is hoping for. For us to scatter. There will be no separation."

"And Amelia?"

"We have no reason to believe she is an immediate target. She wasn't taken when they raided her house. I can only assume they had the opportunity. She will remain well hidden for the meantime."

"And what about Boone?"

"I won't risk moving him anywhere without you; we can't know if there would be consequences."

"I'd go. If you thought it were best, I would."

It took a lot for her to say and they both realized it.

"I can't. Sookie, I need you by my side. If it comes to a fight, we'll stand together. We will find a way to secure Boone's safety and we'll address the issue head on."

Sookie was thinking of what Bill said, that he had tricks up his sleeve. Well Eric did as well. They were not sitting ducks in the wilderness. They would not be taken down easily.

"I love you."

"And I, you. That you would trust me with your fate means more to me that I could ever express."

"Everything I have, forever. I said it once, formally, and I meant it."

"I have not forgotten."

"Do you think it's time?"

"No, no… I do not."

Moving aside her shirt, he placed his hand gingerly against her flat stomach and caressed the soft skin.

"I will be there next time."

"I don't know if it will ever be safe enough to risk…"

"We'll worry about that later. I do believe it's dinnertime."

"I saw you have at least three True Bloods today."

"So?"

"I thought you ancient types didn't need much blood."

"Is dinnertime only about blood?" He smiled. "I thought perhaps something else?"

As he carried her off to the bedroom, she laughed. It was such a contrasting moment to the ones she had been writing about earlier, that she couldn't help but smile back at him.

He was helping her heal, stripping back the layers of resentment and confusion by exposing them for what they were.

Life wasn't always rosy. But just then it was, being swept away in a moment of bliss with her husband was utterly perfect.

.

After 'dinner' when she was drifting off to sleep, Sookie asked," Eric?"

"Yes, my love?"

"You have a lot of dinners for someone who doesn't eat."

"You're talking crazy talk now, shh, get some sleep."

Eric shifted and tucked blankets around her.

"Are you going to stay with me?"

"Always. I wanted to read what you've written. I'll fetch the journal and bring it to bed."

He was back in a few seconds; Sookie untucked herself and snuggled her bum against his side.

Placing the pen he grabbed from the office on the side table, Eric smiled contentedly as he flipped the small diary open to where he left off. He stroked Sookie's hip with tender familiarity as she fell asleep and he read over what she'd written…

.

**A/N** Thank you heaps for reading :) Thoughts on what Eric might write about/comment on?

See you next Monday! (okay, so it's 5:38pm on Tuesday where I am, but the internet tells me it's still Monday in Hawaii, so I'm calling this a success ;) )


	9. Hide and Seek

After he read over what Sookie had written, Eric went back and slipped a few notes into the margins.

**(Pen up – Eric)**

Sookie came to me at a time when I was bored with the world. It felt as though humans were making such grand progress, and we (as vampires) were still very much left in the dark ages, resigned to the shadows, watching our countries became overrun by the less powerful.

Not that I had any desire to conquer the world. I'd realized at seventeen that, that was not all it is cracked up to be. However, I did want a part of it to call my own.

And so I travelled, hand in hand with immigrants, founding new lands, searching for that niche.

In the nineties, I called my only living child to my side and together we founded a bar. It provided us with wealth and Pam provided the amusement I'd been lacking (though of the platonic variety only).

Yet, in spite of the success of the club, I'd spent nearly one hundred years as Sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana and I was starting to itch. I had no great longing to be King and the Queen's rule was nearing its end. She'd made some poor marriage choices and the state was divided. I didn't care to weigh in on either side; I'd be targeted as a threat in either case. I purposely left my stance loyal, but open.

In the end, I was disappointed to see Sophie-Anne defeated, and indifferent (at the time) with respect to her successor, Felipe DeCastro. He was all flash and no substance, and the takeover had little effect on the bar.

Still, I was restless. There had not been nearly enough of a fight to stir my interest.

The bar was run through channels that were dodgy at best, to ensure it couldn't be connected back to Pam and me. We weren't exactly social security card-carrying citizens and that was the only way to do it back then, unfortunately. I loathed dealing with slime.

I abhorred the way they looked at me during our dealings. Their red, alcohol riddled faces and seedy smirks said 'we're the same.' We were worlds apart.

They chose the seamy side of life for themselves; I was merely a by-product of it. I'd not chosen it for myself. Not becoming a vampire, not living an underhanded life. None of it. And I believe being a vampire is only a sordid affair if you make it one. Yes, I've done things others may label wicked. But the root of evil lies not with my behaviour, but with those who choose to do wrong for the sake of it.

But back to choices, as this is not an expose on good and evil. Not unless that is what Sookie wants. If so, I'll be back because I certainly have more to share on the subject.

You could say I've chosen my children, my companions, over the years but more often than not, I believe in a way that they've been chosen for me. It's always been a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

I think Sookie would say it's unlike me to take credit away from myself, but I'd be a fool if I said I deserved what I have now.

A wife who loves me with a pure heart and a son of my own creation… the possibility of more unique children and eternal life with a person who brings me so much happiness I can barely think straight at times.

And enough loyal contacts to ensure our safe passage to a new home. In a world where it is easier to burn bridges than construct them, I'm fortunate (now more than ever) for my past conduct. Not all of it, but most.

Time ticks by so slowly when you're waiting. And in part, that's been a blessing. And at other times, it's been a strain. As much as I love my family, we're together all the time. We can fall into odds over the simplest things, and the connection that ties Sookie and me is far too strong to change now.

She's been polite about it (mostly), and I think she retains so much of herself because of her willpower and training. I don't think I could control her if I tried, not that I'd want to, but I have to admit, I've had the thought. And it's worth what we did if even only to remove the possibility that someone else could have taken that from her, made her theirs in a moment of greed.

But am I truly any different? Or am I only off the hook because she appears pleased with my company now? Did I not make our first blood exchange because she intrigued me? Because I wanted her. I can't say that I knew her greatly then, but my desire for her was innate.

And she was all I thought about when I sat in that room, night after night, willing time to pass.

I don't like knowing that it was so easy for me at that time and so difficult for Sookie. It was painless to ignore my surroundings and send away the meals they sent in.

I had downtime, a trancelike state wherein time passed unnoticed and I spent most of the day given over to that. Sookie didn't have that luxury and Bill fed me no information about her whereabouts, though he did see that I wasn't disturbed after several months.

It wasn't until after my stay that I realized exactly what Bill was getting up to.

To say I wasn't happy would be an understatement.

He told me nothing of Sookie. Even when I saw him intermittedly after she'd gone. He handed over no notes, gave no clue or signal, said nothing other than she was safe and suggested I'd have to be ok with that.

It made sense to me why she'd not been there when people were travelling through the building, people from Washington, but why she stopped coming after was a mystery to me.

I was left to believe she didn't want to see me anymore that something had happened to change her mind. Captivity was straightforward; her rejection was not. Days passed by even faster, thinking of nothing at all. I had my solitude and I hoped that Sookie was happy somewhere with hers.

I had no idea of how she suffered, and when Pam and Bill showed up late one night to take me away, I had half a mind not to ask about her.

But Pam prodded at me anyway.

"We must go now."

"Where?"

"To where Amelia is keeping Sookie."

"I have no desire to see her."

"Master, she has not been able to come see you."

She was holding something back.

My eyes flashed toward Bill.

"Why was I not told of this?"

"It was not relevant."

I should have been given the decision.

And damn my heart, if it did not swell when it caught sight of her, laying in bed when Amelia let me into her room.

"Sookie, Are you…"

_Hurt_, I was going to ask, but as I advanced, I identified her ailment. She was with child. Greatly with child, I had not been in the company of many pregnant women, but her stomach was massive; it dwarfed her small frame.

I guessed it was why she was lying in bed, but it did nothing to assuage the rage I felt brewing inside me.

I began to leave, following the path that led me in. I needed to leave the room before I heard her excuse. I was full of emotion but sympathy was not one of them.

She roused before I reached the door.

"Eric…"

My name was barely more than a whisper through her dry, cracked lips.

The glass of water was just out of her reach; I watched her hand stretch out to obtain it and she shrunk back, frustrated and tired.

My insides were at war, and I couldn't make myself get it for her.

I shut the door as softly as I could behind me; it was all the grace I had left.

Pam and Bill were in the kitchen. Amelia was dawdling in the hallway. She had the good fortune of being the first I came in contact with.

"Why would you bring me here?"

I spat it out with a hatred that belied the hurt I felt inside. I would not let her see how much pain they'd brought me that night. While I could not pin down their motives, I knew better than to give anyone the pleasure of my true emotions. I'd shared them with Sookie and what had that brought me.

"What.. I don't unders…" Amelia fumbled with her hands. "Is Sookie still asleep? Is she hungry? Can I…"

"I do not care what you do. I wish to leave."

"Leave?"

Her voice gave way to shock, bordering on anger.

"She can't go anywhere like this. In a month, maybe, but the…"

"Alone. I will leave now, alone."

"WHAT?" Amelia screeched. Pam and Bill burst into the hallway.

"What's going on?"

"He's going to leave her here."

Pam looked toward me disapprovingly. Bill kept his features in check.

I started to wonder what was going on.

"Would you stay?" I asked Bill.

I wasn't truly asking it of him, it was hypothetical. Yet he saw fit to answer.

"With Sookie? Yes. Under any circumstances."

Bill rubbed Amelia's arm and smiled.

That gave it all away.

"The child is mine."

To anyone else it would have sounded like an assertion, but Pam saw straight through it.

Her face said 'you idiot! Of course it is,' without her having to actually say a word.

As I pushed past Bill in the hallway, I threatened, "If this is in any way your fault, you will pay."

When I sat on the bed next to her, Sookie was upset; her cheeks were streaked with tears and I prayed it was because she couldn't reach the nightstand, and not that she'd realized I'd been and gone.

I handed her the glass of water through the darkness, making sure her hand clasped it completely before letting go.

"Bill?"

Her voice was soft, vulnerable, and slightly scratchy because it was so dry.

"Drink."

I pushed her hand with the glass closer to her mouth.

She took a sip, and then gulped down the water. She held the glass back up when she was done and I took it from her, placing it on the table, flicking the little lamp on as I did so.

Her face was wet, soaked with tears and the blankets had fallen away, exposing her breasts, filling out her thin nightgown, and part of her stomach.

I had never been so hesitant to touch something in my life.

Our eyes met and the rush of emotion was intense. I still couldn't bring myself to touch her; perhaps for fear she'd disappear if I did…

So she reached out first, pressing her warm, little hand against my own.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?"

I wanted to reassure her, but I'd also made a promise to myself to be honest with her. "I have no idea."

She smiled half-heartedly and squeezed my hand. I felt like I was watching her grow up in front of my eyes.

"But I will figure it out."

"If it's okay with you, _we'll_ figure it out," she amended.

"More than okay." The words felt so stupid and small.

"I'm so sorry Eric, I can barely stay awake."

Even as she spoke, her eyelids danced between open and closed and I knew it wouldn't be long.

"It's all right Sookie."

I slipped under the covers with her and pulled her against me. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. She still felt right in my arms, even with her sizeable stomach.

As she wriggled against me, finding a comfortable spot to rest her head, I couldn't help but wonder exactly what we had gotten into. If the baby was mine, no… it was mine. I couldn't doubt that, but then I'd never heard of such a thing, not in a thousand years on earth.

I had no idea what she would give birth to.

**(Pen down – Eric)**

Eric placed the book and pen back on the nightstand and curled around Sookie; she scooched herself back into him and he sighed.

.

It was a rare morning when Eric went to sleep after Sookie, but it was one of them and he still woke before her. He picked up the journal and meandered around the house, musing over what he would write next. He wasn't too happy with what he'd already written, even though it was the truth of it.

But Sookie had bared her soul; he could at least give glimpses.

He checked in on Boone and then went outside, sitting on the steps as he wrote.

**(Pen up – Eric)**

As Sookie drew closer to her due date, I was busy with arrangements. Amelia's father's position in the world afforded us some security and I also had a few strings I could pull.

We wouldn't remain safe in Louisiana or even the US, so we had to move. It wasn't an easy task with an infant, but the bond was so strong between all of us instantly that we made do.

It felt strange at first to be travelling with _my family_, but we fell into a rhythm.

We relied on the kindness of others and also our own fortitude. Often Sookie and I spent days apart, because either she or I would stand guard while the other rested.

Often that left me with an infant to entertain, though I was fortunate he wasn't much for theatrics. Sookie fussed that he didn't cry enough and I teased that he was my son and men from the north didn't whine without provocation.

"But he's just a baby," Sookie fretted, somewhere around Prague as she handed Mason off to me.

"He isn't," I reminded her.

"But I can see him with my own two eyes. He has ten fingers and ten toes and these little rosebud lips that babies have. He may have fangs, but he can't be happy all the time; there has to be something wrong."

She rubbed his belly exploratorily and Boone wiggled against her hand, the beginnings of a smile curling up on his lips.

As far as I could tell, the child looked healthy. He shared my pale complexion, and had the fair features of both of us, but after each feeding he was pink and glowing. He could pass for a normal human child, I thought.

"Besides the fact his mother worries too much?"

"Eric, I'm being serious."

"So am I. He knows we need him to be still. I am positive the time will come where you won't be able to contain his energy."

"I hope so."

"You say that now."

She yawned and I wrapped a blanket tighter around her.

We were staying in the back of a little bakery for half the night. It was tricky to decide when to travel considering. We weren't always 100% secure to sleep all together during the day, so we often only got in a few hours of travel a day – and mostly on foot. Travelling by air was too risky, as we weren't formally checking in at each destination.

Sometimes I would carry them long distances when we were in wooded areas, but even then, those were still common areas for vampires to hide so we had to be cautious.

Mainstreaming had not played out the same everywhere in the world. In some areas, even in Europe, vampires were persecuted and thus their worlds remained lawful unto their own.

**(Pen down – Eric)**

That brought Eric around to thinking about their current situation and he found it hard to continue writing. He had to strategize; there were wheels to set in motion.

.

.

"You do realize this is completely unfair."

"Hmm… the words of the defeated."

Eric lifted Sookie and slung her over his shoulder victoriously. She put up a bit of a struggle, but only enough to excite him.

"I've found her!" he called out to Boone who had given up searching and was running through the woods wildly.

His words fell on deaf ears.

"I guess the game is over."

Sookie nodded her head in agreement against his back.

Eric put his wife down slowly, enjoying the friction as her body slid down his. She was just about to speak when he pulled her close and tilted her head up for a kiss.

"Now, we have both won. I will hear no more about the integrity of this game. Your son enjoys playing and parenthood is about sacrifice."

He knew he could rile her up by using her own words against her.

"Yeah, he looks like he's enjoying the game alright."

She snorted and pointed in Boone's direction and then drew her gaze downward. It was _more than clear_ who enjoyed hide and seek most.

"You've caught me out."

Eric grinned, utterly unabashed and gave Sookie another lengthy, toe-tingling kiss.

"We will finish this later."

His eyes were so intense when he looked at her that she felt her body simultaneously cover in goosebumps and heat so hot she was sure she'd melt on the spot.

They all had their own 'unfair' advantages in any game that related to location, and it was in part because of how closely they were all tied. And secondly, because of the variety of skills they brought to the table – telepath (or more?), vampire, and a quirk combination of the two.

Eric and Sookie had spent a great deal of time working on that connection, fine tuning it so that they could live day to day with some semblance of privacy, but with the possibility to open it if they needed to find each other and that was a real possibility given their life. They'd also worked with Boone to do the same. But even then, it was hard to stay out of each other's hearts and minds entirely and it sometimes worried Eric – what Sookie might pick up from him.

He didn't want to change her. Not her personality anyway and he thought that the past he contained within himself might do something like that or at the very least wreak havoc with her conscience until perhaps she couldn't bear to be with him anymore.

But that hadn't happened. And all he could do was remain hopeful it never would.

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**A/N **I don't know, I'm usually pretty confident when I put a chapter out, but this one smells like fail to me. I only got through half of what I had planned for this chapter, so while I'm hoping to stuff it into the next chapter, I might come back and change this one entirely. I'll leave a note at the beginning of the next chapter if I do, and if anyone knows where I've gone wrong, I'm all ears!

But I'm putting it out to dissuade the little perfectionist inside me and I think it's still Monday for most of the world? :)

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter! Hugs, Cass xx


	10. Diffusion

**Chapter 10 - Diffusion**

Days passed by so slowly, and were consumed with waiting: to hear from Bill, to hear something about Amelia and her whereabouts, for a breach in security that would force action on their part… just _waiting_.

It was agonizing, and the more Sookie and Eric tried to distract themselves, the more they were drawn back into it; the anticipation was oppressive.

Even sweet, little Boone appeared anxious; the tension was contagious.

One evening, as Sookie made herself lunch, he was following behind in Eric's footsteps. Literally - both were pacing the kitchen like caged animals. Eric must have taken notice of the little one's actions, at least unconsciously, because he moved slowly, as if making up for Boone's lesser gait. At any other time, it may have been cute, but it was gnawing at Sookie, watching them fret.

"Would you two sit down or go outside already?"

Eric stopped by the door; Boone was still catching up and was by the refrigerator, lifting his knees as he walked, like a little soldier. Sookie was barely holding it together.

"It's better if we don't separate. You know that."

_Yes, I do_, she thought. _We've only discussed it eighty times._

"All right. I'm almost done here. I'll take it outside, okay? Sound good Boone, you want to go outside and _play_?"

Realizing he was addressed personally, Boone stopped in his tracks, turned, and smiled at his mother.

_Thank heavens for that_, Sookie thought as she returned the smile.

"I don't know why I can't stay inside and write, you're both too fast for me anyway," she muttered as she placed the buttered top piece of bread on her sandwich.

"What was that?"

As if he hadn't caught what she said, Eric leaned over, obstructing her view of the meal on the counter. He'd scooped up Boone and the toddler was enjoying a sideways view of the world from his position in Eric's arms.

She took one step back, noticed Boone's lopsided, ear-to-ear grin and reached for the picnic basket on the table.

"Okay, I give in. You'll find somewhere good for lunch though, nowhere muddy."

"That's more like it. Northman spirit."

It didn't escape her that he hadn't commented on the mud situation.

"Northman spirit," Boone repeated as Eric shifted him so that he was completely upside down. "I'm a bat!" he exclaimed, screeching with laughter.

"Common myth, my son. Transfiguration is reserved for Dracula and the vampires on Buffy. We stay our handsome selves at all times."

"I'm glad for it," Sookie chipped in, tickling Boone in the ribs.

Boone squealed and wriggled, and finally gave in, putting his hands up in defeat. His arms were dangling down around Eric's knees and when Eric let go, he pushed off Eric's thighs and did a little backward somersault, landing perfectly on his feet.

Sookie clapped.

"Bravo."

Running over to his father's side, Boone took a slight bow as he passed by Sookie, and then stood next to Eric proudly.

"Ah, yes… well. We haven't quite finessed the end."

Eric reached down and ran his hand through Boone's hair, rumpling it up.

"You two have too much time on your hands."

And there they were, faced with the crux of the issue again. Neither of them knew how long peace would hold out and so they'd each spent a great deal of time with their favourite diversion, Boone.

In moments like that, Sookie felt selfish for having him, for being _glad_ that he was there. He was such a charming, intelligent little boy and she knew he couldn't possibly deserve the life they'd be forced to live. All she could pray for was that it didn't harden his heart, and that she'd be around as long as she possibly could to ensure that.

Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, she turned and went to the cupboard to grab a thick blanket to put in the basket. Too many times that week she'd already had to explain tears to her baby.

_The waterworks have to stop. I need to put on a brave face and keep us all rallied together; that's my role now. _

When she returned, she'd settled down and made room in the basket for the blanket. In the few seconds she'd been gone to retrieve the blanket, Boone and Eric had overfilled the basket with books and toys. She pared it down to the essentials, sparing some room for a couple books/toys for each of them. She also tucked in her notebook.

"Ready to go?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I think so."

_How soon will he be asking that again, and mean indefinitely? I'm really not ready to leave our life here behind. _

Steeling herself for the worst – _any_ time could be the last time they were at the house - she took one glance around the kitchen and followed her loves out the door.

_Home is where the __**heart**__ is. _

But even as she tried to convince herself of that truth, she couldn't reason away the pangs of loss she still felt over the old farmhouse in Bon Temps. Even with its harsh renovations, it was the one place in the world she would forever think of as home.

.

.

As she suspected, once they were deep in the woods, Eric left her to her own devices, running around at speeds she could barely blink at, chasing after Boone.

And while it seemed like she was alone – in a (thankfully) non-muddy spot – she had a feeling they were making circuits. She could feel the waxing and waning of their presence in her mind as they moved about.

**(Pen up – Sookie)**

I spend so much of my time thinking over the choices I've made, wondering how things have ended up like they are. Not because I'm miserable, but curious and with so much time to think... it comes up now and again.

I've always felt like an outcast, so it shouldn't be such a stretch to believe that my choices brought me here.

The funny thing is I can't come up with many moments where I've felt like I had a choice. No crossroads to ponder. It's been as straight of a path as possible for as long as I can remember.

I feel like there is something intrinsically unfair about putting it like that, especially knowing that Eric will read over this. But it's true. For as much as he's been my saviour, I went from one cage to the next.

I might enjoy the scenery here, the people I'm with… but we're stuck. And it kills me that I can't do anything about it, and that I've dragged him down with me.

For what it's worth, Eric's always asked, giving us both the illusion of choice. He asked me what I thought before we were bonded, and again before we married. In the first situation, I was running away from the government and in part it was a necessity, so we could find each other if I was taken.

And you know what, I wouldn't change that. It's been … difficult to live with, but our closeness has come in handy more than once and I'm sure it will get us through worse scrapes before all is said and done.

So I guess, the thought that resounds within me is – is it still a choice when it'd be unwise to take the alternate path or when the decision has to be made in the spur of a moment? Though I'm starting to believe all the time in the world might not be enough to consider a path truly chosen. In the end, it's all in the luck of the draw. How I feel in that moment when I profess my decision. A moment can be swayed, influenced. And some decisions can't be taken back. If for no other reason than the fear of letting someone down…

The straightforward side of me wants to say yes, a choice is a choice; there is no debating a word defined as such in the dictionary, but in my heart I feel differently. I can't help that.

I can't help but wish that someday, life will be held to my terms, and things will happen when I want them to. Even the smallest thing like being able to choose when we move house; it would make a world of difference to me.

It's okay to write such selfish things in my own journal, isn't it? I know there are worse situations to be in… I've been in some of them… but to dream… well, I wouldn't want to be alive without dreams, something to strive for.

Life.

Another thing to contemplate. And related to what is perhaps my first sincere choice.

Once I turn, things will be different between us. We'll still be linked, but in a different way. Less demanding, or so he says. I've seen the way Pam defers to him and while I trust that our relationship is on a different level, the fact that he _would_ have that power for eternity, it's intimidating.

There is the possibility to be turned by Pam, who we trust. Or even Mason when he's older. Maybe? But I don't know how long I want to wait, and for as much as Eric cares for Pam, I worry that he'd be tempted to do something rash if she so much as joked about using our connection for her own gain.

And then, our engagement. Bless him; it's one of the best moments of my life, though I didn't realize it at the time.

I'd just thrown up. For the third time that evening/early morning…

"Sookie?"

"Eric…"

I gripped hard onto his arm to help lift myself up off the floor. I'd been kneeling over the toilet, though it was a hard reach with my pregnant belly. Amelia had buckets by the bed, but it must have been ingrained within me to rush for the toilet when I felt signs of nausea.

As soon as I felt the excess saliva in my mouth, I was up and out of bed faster than should have been possible in my condition. And, as if on cue, I threw up exactly when I arrived in the bathroom, just by the toilet. The motion of it all threw me that extra last foot or two down onto my knees.

Romantic setting, right?

After I stood, he knelt down. I thought it was in preparation for another bout of sickness. I wondered if I was still looking green around the gills. Often I thought I was through being sick before I truly was, so, taking that into consideration, I moved to sit back down again and he reached upward with his hand, stilling my movement.

"Sookie, please, stay. There, just like that. You're so beautiful. I feel… I feel so angry inside knowing that you've gone through so much of this on your own. There is no where I'd rather be, than here with you, to see our family through this trying time."

I smiled. I knew Eric wasn't the type to be so forthcoming with his feelings and as it was, we'd made such progress in a short span of time. It'd been a matter of weeks we had there, undercover at Amelia's, getting to know each other all over again after so many months apart.

I didn't… well, I didn't want him to feel trapped. Not like I did. I felt frail and sick when I needed to be strong. The only thing that felt right was when he referred to me as his family.

To hear the word. It touched me in so many ways.

Tears escaped my eyes, slipping down my cheeks.

He reached up and wiped them away, smiling tenderly. I don't know if I've seen such a frank, nervous smile on him since.

"I've never done this before and honestly, never thought I would be given the chance. Not after I died… with the things I've done… to love someone like this… it's... mythical. I know I don't deserve it. But improbable or not, it's happened. I feel for you like I have never felt before. I cannot bear the thought of existing without you. I feel hollow inside when the thought strikes me, that there could ever be a night not graced with your presence. Not again. Not ever again. I'm not asking you to make a decision to… join me. Not just yet anyway. I cannot promise that I will not ask it of you, even beg you in the future… but I will never do anything against your will. I pledge to always do right by you, even if it is at a great risk to myself. For a vampire, that is the most sincere oath I can give. Love, cherish, honor… all of these things, I already feel them for you, toward you. Sookie Stackhouse, I hate to keep you up on your beautiful, swollen feet any longer than I need to, will you be my wife?"

In a million years, I'd not have thought that was what he was gearing up to say, or to ask rather. My heart sunk to the floor. I wanted to believe all of the things he was saying, and I do _now_; I really do. But at the time, I couldn't help but feel like I'd roped him into it. With the baby, with all that responsibility. If I hadn't have been so needy, would he have stayed?

"You don't ha…"

And then charmingly, I threw up. Another shining moment for Sookie Stackhouse. And one that will forever be etched into both of our memories. He asked me to marry him and I tossed my cookies… all over him. For the first time in my life, I hadn't felt it coming.

Of course, I said yes. When I was all cleaned up and tucked back into bed. He had a ring prepared and everything – a canary yellow diamond in an antique setting. I couldn't have imagined anything so stunning. But had I been able to finish what I started saying… would things have gone any differently?

I was afraid to be without him, and just as afraid to be with him because to be with the father of my child meant that I was having a child. He was coming, whether I was ready or not. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it.

Eric sung me to sleep that morning, an old lullaby that he recalled from his childhood. I couldn't fathom how easy it was for him to accept me (and a child) into his life. Hadn't it been amazing, being alone, and doing whatever you wanted? With the bar, and his wealth… all those options… And yet, I let the song weave it's web in my heart. It was magic; a lovely tale that I could only partially understand, but it sounded of hopes and dreams and far off places…

**(Pen down – Sookie)**

The hand on her shoulder came as a great shock to her because neither Eric nor Mason was nearby. It took less than a second for her to do a quick scan and come to that realization.

Opening her mouth to cry out for her husband, a cool hand closed over her mouth. She screamed at Eric through the bond, hoping that he would hear her and pick up on her distress. But a moment passed, and nothing.

_Oh god, we've come so far._

A voice whispered in her ear, "Sookie. It's Bill. Please don't call for Eric just yet. I know it's difficult, but calm down. I've got some things I would like to talk about before he storms in and starts making all the decisions."

Her heart slowed and when she nodded, he let his hand fall away from her mouth.

Bill ran the same hand through his hair absently.

"I apologize. It was not my intention to sneak up on you like this. I went to the house and found it abandoned. There were no signs of struggle, but I concluded the worst. I was afraid you might mistake me for your pursuant, and then I went and acted like one."

"It's okay Bill. I forgive you; I understand. But I daresay it won't be long before Eric swings past again and notices something is amiss, so if you have something to say to me in confidence, you'd best hurry."

.

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A/N Gosh, I missed this one! I know it's short ^_^; but I always get more ideas when I receive feedback, so I thought I'd throw this chapter up and hope for the best. xx


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